Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Prune Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the prunes
Pour boiling water over the prunes and stew until soft.
Sift the softened prunes.
Make the meringue
Beat the egg whites until stiff, then gradually add the powdered sugar.
Fold the egg white mixture into the sifted prunes.
Bake and serve
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for 20 minutes.
Serve cold with cream or boiled custard.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Prunes
- Provide the main body, sweetness and fruity flavour of the pudding.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff foam, they lighten the pudding and give it its airy structure.
- Powdered sugar
- Stabilises the whipped egg whites and adds sweetness to the meringue.
The step that matters
Beat the egg whites until stiff. Egg whites must be whipped to stiff peaks before folding, because the trapped air is what lightens and lifts the pudding. Under-whipped whites will collapse and make the pudding dense.
“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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