Why it works: Arrowroot and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 553 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
Arrowroot Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the arrowroot base
Mix the arrowroot with a little cold water to form a thin, smooth paste.
Heat the milk in a saucepan until hot but not boiling.
Gradually stir the arrowroot paste into the hot milk.
Continue stirring until the mixture thickens.
Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
Add the eggs and bake
Beat the eggs and mix them with the sugar and grated lemon peel.
Combine the egg mixture with the arrowroot mixture and stir well.
Pour into a buttered dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 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.
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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Arrowroot + lemontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together553 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Arrowroot + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together817 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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
- West indian arrowroot
- Thickens the milk into a smooth, soft custard-like set when heated.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base and creamy body of the pudding.
- Eggs
- Add richness and help the pudding set as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and balances the lemon peel.
The step that matters
Stirring the arrowroot into the hot milk. Arrowroot thickens by starch gelatinization once heated, so adding the paste gradually while stirring prevents lumps and gives a smooth texture.
Swap the arrowroot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, egg, sugar, lemon):
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Arrowrootthe original
- Sweet potatofits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, egg, sugar, lemon. 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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