Why it works: Apple and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,551 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Baked Apple Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the apples
Peel and quarter the apples.
Boil the apples with the lemon rind in just enough water to cover them until tender.
Drain any remaining water and mash the apples until smooth.
Make the filling
Mix in the roll crumb, melted butter, egg yolks, lemon juice, and sugar.
Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the mixture.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a dish lined with pastry and bake.
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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Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,551 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Apples
- Provide the main bulk and fruity flavour of the pudding while softening into a purée.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the mixture and help it set into a custard-like texture when baked.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they lighten the mixture and help it rise and set airy.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, contributing fat for a tender texture.
- Roll crumb
- Soaks up liquid and gives the mixture body so it holds together.
The step that matters
Fold the egg whites into the mixture. Whites beaten to stiff peaks trap air that gives lift. Folding gently keeps that air in; stirring hard deflates the foam and leaves a dense pudding.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lemon, butter, egg, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Orangefits better
- Raspberryfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lemon, butter, egg, sugar. 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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