Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Baked Indian 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 pudding base
In a pot, combine cornmeal and flour.
Gradually add milk and cook over medium heat, stirring until thickened like mush.
Remove from heat and stir in molasses and salt.
Bake
Pour mixture into a baking dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 45 minutes.
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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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + molassestop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,243 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Cornmeal
- Thickens the milk into a mush and gives the pudding its body and texture.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the cornmeal thickens and that bakes into a custard-like set.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color and a deep caramel-like flavor to the pudding.
- All-purpose flour
- Adds extra thickening so the mixture sets more firmly with the cornmeal.
The step that matters
Cooking the milk and cornmeal until thickened. Cornmeal must be stirred over medium heat until it thickens fully, because starch only swells and thickens properly once heated in liquid. Undercooked cornmeal leaves a grainy, thin 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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