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Asparagus Pudding

A savory pudding made with asparagus, eggs, flour, ham, butter, and milk.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Asparagus and peas match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 808 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Asparagus Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the tender parts of the asparagus into pieces the size of peas.

  2. In a bowl, combine the asparagus, beaten eggs, flour, ham, butter, pepper, and salt. Mix well and add enough milk to achieve a thick butter-like consistency.

Steam and serve

  1. Transfer the mixture to a buttered 1-pint mold and cover tightly with a floured cloth.

  2. Place the mold in boiling water and boil for 2 hours.

  3. Turn the pudding out onto a hot dish and pour melted butter around it.

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. Asparagus + peastop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together808 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

  3. Asparagus + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,968 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Asparagus + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together936 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
Bind the mixture and set it into a firm, sliceable pudding when cooked.
Flour
Thickens the batter so the pudding holds its shape rather than becoming loose.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture, giving the pudding a soft, smooth texture.
Asparagus
Provides the main vegetable flavour and tender pieces throughout the pudding.

The step that matters

Add the milk gradually. The milk should bring the mixture to a thick, butter-like consistency. Too much liquid makes the pudding loose and unable to hold its shape when turned out.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (asparagus, egg, flour, ham, butter, pepper, milk):

  1. Almondfits about as well
  2. Beansfits about as well
  3. Peasthe original
  4. Chestnutfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against asparagus, egg, flour, ham, butter, pepper, milk. 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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