Why it works: Milk and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 88,465 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Assemble
Dip lady fingers in wine and roll them in jelly.
Place the lady fingers in the bottom of a pudding dish.
Make the custard
In a saucepan, combine milk, egg yolks, and sugar; heat until thickened.
Pour the custard over the lady fingers.
Top and serve
Whip the egg whites until stiff and spread over the 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.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Milk + eggtop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together88,465 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Wine + milktop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,085 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (fenugreek, curry).
-
Milk + sugartop 9% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together77,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Egg + sugartop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together122,252 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Wine + sugartop 19% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together8,943 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Milk and sugar share little aroma chemistry, yet 77,855 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Lady fingers
- Soak up the wine and form the sponge base that holds the custard.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard and keeps it moist.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard as their proteins set with gentle heat.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into stiff foam, they give the topping a light, airy texture.
- Jelly
- Adds sweetness and fruity flavor to the lady fingers.
- Wine
- Moistens the lady fingers and adds flavor.
The step that matters
Heating the custard until thickened. Egg yolks set with heat, but if the custard gets too hot or heats too fast, the yolks can curdle and turn grainy. Heat gently and stir constantly so the custard thickens smoothly.
“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
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
IllustrationThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.