Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Cottage Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the batter
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, mix melted butter and sugar until well combined.
Add the beaten egg and flour, then stir in the sour milk.
Pour the mixture into a greased loaf pan.
Make the sauce
For the sauce, mix powdered sugar and butter until smooth.
Stir in the wine until well combined.
Cook the pudding
Place the pudding in a kettle of boiling water and cook, stirring briskly, until hot.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + saucetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,147 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,505 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Milk + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,479 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the pudding together as it sets.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure and richness.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the pudding rises and becomes light.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor in the pudding and sauce.
- White sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps give the pudding a tender texture.
- Sour milk
- Adds moisture and tang to the batter.
The step that matters
Stirring briskly in the boiling water. Constant stirring keeps the pudding moving so it heats evenly and does not scorch or stick to the bottom of the kettle.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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