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Dessert

Delmonico Pudding

A custard-like pudding made with sweet milk, eggs, corn starch, sugar, butter, and flavoring, topped with whipped egg whites.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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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 ↓

Delmonico 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

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. In a bowl, mix the egg yolks and corn starch until well combined.

  3. Boil the sweet milk and pour it into the egg yolk mixture, stirring constantly.

Bake

  1. Add the butter and flavoring, then pour the mixture into a deep baking dish.

  2. Bake in the preheated oven until set.

Top and serve

  1. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gradually add 2 tablespoons of sugar.

  2. Spread the beaten egg whites on top of the pudding before serving.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Corn + vanillatop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,943 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  5. Milk + corntop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,955 recipes

    Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).

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

Egg yolks
Thicken and set the custard as they cook, adding richness and colour.
Corn starch
Thickens the milk mixture so the pudding holds its shape when cut.
Sweet milk
Forms the liquid base of the custard, setting as it bakes.
Egg whites
Whipped to stiff peaks, they form a light, airy topping.
Sugar
Sweetens the custard and helps stabilise the whipped egg whites.
Butter
Adds fat for a richer flavour and softer texture.

The step that matters

Pouring the boiled milk into the yolks. Adding hot milk too fast can scramble the egg yolks and leave lumps. Pouring slowly while stirring constantly gently warms the yolks so the custard stays smooth and thickens evenly.

“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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