Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Potato 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.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the filling
In a large bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, butter, egg yolks, sugar, and cream. Mix until smooth and well combined.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold them into the potato mixture.
Bake
Prepare a deep dish with pastry and pour the mixture in.
Bake until set and lightly golden on top.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Potato + creamtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,481 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Butter + curranttop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,856 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- White potatoes
- Provide the bulk of the filling and a soft, starchy body once mashed smooth.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a tender, moist texture to the pudding.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the custard and help it set into a smooth, sliceable texture when baked.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they lighten the mixture and help it rise in the oven.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and contributes to browning on the surface.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, softening the potato base for a smoother custard.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Stiff whites hold air that lightens the mixture. Folding gently keeps that air in; stirring vigorously deflates the foam, leaving a denser pudding.
Swap the currant
The recipe marks currant as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, butter, egg, sugar, cream):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Strawberryfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, butter, egg, sugar, cream. 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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