Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓
Corn Puddings
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the pudding
In a large bowl, combine the grated corn, milk, eggs, salt, melted butter, and grated nutmeg. Mix well until fully combined.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish.
Bake and serve
Bake for 1 hour or until set.
Serve warm with sauce.
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 + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
-
Corn + nutmegtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together563 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Corn + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set the custard and give the pudding its structure as they cook.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base that cooks into a soft, custard-like texture.
- Sweet green corn
- Supplies the main body, sweetness and flavor of the pudding.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender, smooth texture.
The step that matters
Bake until set. Eggs thicken as they heat, so pulling the pudding too early leaves it runny in the centre, while overbaking can make it dry and rubbery. Check that it is set before serving.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, milk, egg, butter):
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Nutmegthe original
- Parsleyfits less well
- Tarragonfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against corn, milk, egg, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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