Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Other Puddings
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Dissolve the baking soda in boiling water.
Heat the milk to a boil in a farina kettle.
Sift the cream of tartar through the flour.
Make the batter
Stir the cornmeal into the hot milk and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring well.
Pour the batter into a bowl to cool.
Once cool, add the beaten yolks and sugar, then stir in the Graham flour.
Fold in the whipped egg whites and dissolved baking soda.
Bake and serve
Pour the batter into well-oiled deep gem pans or a pudding dish.
Bake in a pan of boiling water for 20-30 minutes, or until set.
Serve warm or cold with cream, fruit, or lemon sauce.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cream + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Milk and flour 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
- Eggs
- Whipped whites lift the batter, and yolks add richness and structure as they set.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the cream of tartar to lighten the batter and help it rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidic partner to the baking soda that stabilises whipped egg whites and aids rising.
- Milk
- Cooked with the cornmeal to swell the grain and form a thick, tender base.
- Cornmeal
- Provides the main body and coarse texture of the pudding as it cooks and sets.
- Graham flour
- Adds wheaty body and a nutty flavour to the set pudding.
The step that matters
Folding in the whipped egg whites. Egg whites hold air only when whipped to soft peaks and folded gently. Overmixing deflates the foam, so the pudding bakes denser and less light.
“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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