Why it works: Apple and clove are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,774 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓
Apple Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the apples
Peel and core the apples.
Place the apples in a well-greased pie dish.
Fill the center of each apple with sugar and add 2 cloves.
Make the batter and bake
Prepare a light batter and mix in 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
Pour the batter over the apples.
Bake in a brisk oven at 400°F (200°C) until golden and the apples are tender.
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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Apple + clovetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,774 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Apple + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,104 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Clove + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,671 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, 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
- Apples
- Provide the main body and juicy filling that softens as the pudding bakes.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the apples and helps them brown as the sugar heats and caramelizes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas as it heats, lifting the batter so the pudding rises and stays light.
- Cloves
- Add a warm, spicy aroma that complements the baked apples.
The step that matters
Bake until the apples are tender and the batter is golden. Heat must reach the apples so their cell walls soften, while the batter sets and browns. Pulling the dish early leaves firm apples and a gummy, under-set topping.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apple, sugar, flour, milk):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerfits about as well
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against apple, sugar, flour, 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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