Why it works: Pistachio and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 693 recipes. Both carry alpha-pinene, which smells pine, turpentine. The science ↓
Ice Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Make a custard by whisking together the egg yolks, milk, and sugar. Allow it to cool.
Freeze the custard until it reaches the consistency of butter.
Prepare the add-ins
Prepare the fruit by cutting it into pieces, not too small.
Blanch the almonds and pistachios.
Whip the cream and mix in the brandy.
Assemble and freeze
While freezing, decorate the top of an ice mold with some of the fruit.
Add the whipped cream and fruit to the custard, and mix well.
Fill the mold, pressing the mixture in firmly, place the lid on, and seal the join with lard to prevent water from entering.
Bury the mold in ice and salt for two hours or longer, covering it with sawdust or a clean sack.
When ready to serve, wipe the mold with a warm dishcloth, turn it out, and serve immediately.
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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Pistachio + almondtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together693 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Pistachio + nutstop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together425 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Apricot + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together852 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Nuts + almondtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together394 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Apricot + pistachiotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together188 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard base and add richness when chilled.
- Thick cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, soft texture to the frozen pudding.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard that freezes into a creamy texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and softens the texture of the frozen mixture.
- Brandy or champagne
- Adds flavour and lowers the freezing point, keeping the pudding softer.
The step that matters
Freeze the custard until it reaches the consistency of butter. Stop at a spreadable, butter-like firmness so the custard stays smooth and can be pressed into the mold. Freezing it fully solid makes it grainy and hard to mix with the cream and fruit.
Swap the apricot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, pistachio, nuts, milk, cream, almond):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Figfits better
- Apricotthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, pistachio, nuts, milk, cream, almond. 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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