Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Oatmeal Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the thickened milk
Mix the oatmeal and flour smoothly with a little cold milk.
Boil the remaining milk and add the blended oatmeal and flour.
Stir and boil gently for 5 minutes, then add salt to taste.
Finish and bake
When cool, stir in the eggs.
Pour the mixture into a buttered pie dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20 minutes.
Serve
Serve with cream and sugar or golden syrup.
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.
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the oatmeal and flour thicken as it simmers.
- Oatmeal
- Thickens the milk and gives the pudding a grainy, porridge-like texture.
- Flour
- Adds starch that thickens the milk and helps keep the mixture smooth.
- Eggs
- Set when baked, giving the pudding a firmer, custard-like body.
The step that matters
Blending the oatmeal and flour with cold milk first. Starch granules clump when they hit hot liquid directly. Mixing them smoothly with cold milk separates the granules so they hydrate evenly and the pudding stays free of lumps when boiled.
“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.
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.