Why it works: Butter and milk 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 ↓
Pudding Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Beat the egg yolks separately with the sugar until well combined.
Add the butter to the boiling milk and dissolve.
Mix the milk and butter into the yolk and sugar mixture.
Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the mixture.
Finish and serve
Add your choice of flavoring.
Serve warm over pudding.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken and enrich the sauce, while beaten whites add lightness and airy body.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and softens the flavor of the egg yolks.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smooth, rich mouthfeel and silkier texture.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that gives the sauce its creamy body.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whites beaten until stiff trap air that gives the sauce lightness. Fold gently, because vigorous stirring deflates the foam and thins the sauce.
“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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