Why it works: Apple and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,551 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Apple Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slack oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the apples
Remove the cores from the apples and place them in a saucepan with water.
Boil the apples until they are soft and thick.
Make the pudding
Beat the apples well, then stir in the sugar, lemon juice, lemon peels, and egg yolks. Mix everything together thoroughly.
Bake in a 300°F (150°C) oven until done.
Serve
Sprinkle a little sugar on top before serving.
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.
-
Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,551 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Apple and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 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
- Cook down to a soft, thick base that gives the pudding its body.
- Egg yolks
- Bind the mixture and help it set during baking, adding richness.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the tartness of the apples and lemon.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity and bright flavor that cuts through the sweetness.
The step that matters
Baking until done. Egg yolks set as they heat, so the pudding can turn grainy or curdled if overbaked, and stay loose if underbaked. Watch for a set center rather than relying only on time.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, lemon, egg):
- Orangefits better
- Vanillafits better
- Limefits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, lemon, egg. 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.
More apple pudding recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Apple Cake80 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.