Why it works: Lemon and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,227 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Lemon 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.
Make the lemon custard
In a saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
Gradually add water, stirring until smooth.
Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and butter.
Beat egg yolks and add to the mixture, stirring well.
Fold and bake
In a separate bowl, beat egg white until stiff peaks form.
Fold the egg white into the lemon mixture.
Pour into a greased baking dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.
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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Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Butter + eggtop 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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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the liquid into a smooth, sliceable custard as it cooks.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the custard and add richness and body as they set with heat.
- Egg white
- Beaten to stiff peaks, it adds lightness and helps the pudding rise and set airy.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smoother mouthfeel and rich flavor in the custard.
- Lemon juice
- Provides the bright acidity that defines the flavor of the pudding.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and balances the tartness of the lemon juice.
The step that matters
Fold the egg white into the lemon mixture. Stiff egg white foam traps air and gives lift. Deflating it by overmixing or stirring instead of gently folding makes the pudding dense. Fold gently so the air bubbles stay intact.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Lemonthe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg. 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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