Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Chocolate Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding
In a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil with the chocolate, sugar, and a pinch of salt.
Mix the corn starch with a little cold milk, then beat in the egg yolks and stir into the boiling milk.
Boil for 5 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning.
Pour into a dish or mold to cool.
Top and serve
Beat the egg whites until frothy, then add 3 tablespoons of sugar and vanilla to taste.
Pour the beaten egg whites over the pudding and serve cold with sweetened cream.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Corn + vanillatop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,943 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the starch thickens into a creamy pudding.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the milk as it boils, giving the pudding its set body.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help thicken the custard as they cook.
- Grated chocolate
- Provides the chocolate flavour and dark colour of the pudding.
- Egg whites
- Whipped and spooned on top to form a light, airy topping.
The step that matters
Boiling with the starch and egg yolks. Cornstarch thickens only when it boils, but egg yolks can scramble if overheated. Stirring often keeps the mixture smooth and prevents the milk from scorching on the base of the pan.
“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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