Why it works: Egg and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Indian Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the pudding
Mix Indian meal, molasses, eggs, and salt until well combined.
Boil the milk in a pot.
Pour the boiling milk over the mixture and stir well.
Bake
Transfer to a baking dish and bake slowly at 300°F (150°C) for 2 to 3 hours.
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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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Molasses + milktop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,243 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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Molasses + eggtop 34% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,879 recipes
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Indian meal
- Cornmeal that thickens the custard and gives it a grainy, pudding-like body.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, and a deep caramel-like flavor.
- Eggs
- Set during baking to give the pudding structure and a firm, sliceable texture.
- Milk
- Provides liquid that hydrates the cornmeal and creates a creamy, tender custard.
The step that matters
Pouring the boiling milk over the mixture. Hot milk hydrates the cornmeal and begins thickening it, while stirring well prevents lumps and an uneven texture.
“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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