Why it works: Orange and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,696 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓
Orange Pudding
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 the orange and cake
Thinly pare the rind from the oranges and place it in a mortar.
Break the 2 sponge cakes into a bowl.
Scoop the insides of the oranges into a sieve over the bowl.
Rub the juice and pulp through the sieve onto the cakes to soak.
Pound the orange rinds in the mortar.
Mix the rinds with the 4 crumbled sponge cakes.
Soak the mixture in the milk.
Beat the soaked cakes with the juice and pulp until well combined.
Make the custard and bake
Whisk the eggs and yolks until frothy.
Add the eggs and yolks to the cake mixture along with the candied orange peel and sugar to taste.
Mix everything lightly and pour into a baking dish.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C).
Garnish the top with thin slices of candied orange peel.
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.
-
Orange + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,696 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Orange + sugartop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Sponge cakes
- Soak up the milk and juice to form the soft, pudding-like body.
- Eggs
- Set when baked, binding the pudding and giving it a custard-like texture.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help the pudding set smoothly.
- Milk
- Softens the cake and adds moisture and body to the pudding.
- Oranges
- Provide juice, pulp and rind that add fresh citrus flavour and aroma.
The step that matters
Mix everything lightly and pour into a baking dish. Light mixing keeps the eggs from being overworked, so the pudding bakes into a tender, even set rather than a tough or uneven texture.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, egg, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, egg, sugar. 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 orange pudding recipes
You might also like
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Orange Cream Rice Pudding121 recipes
Orange Gelatin100 recipes
Orange Sherbet73 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.