Why it works: Flour and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,623 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Custard Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
In a bowl, mix the cream or milk with the beaten eggs, flour, nutmeg or cinnamon, sugar, and salt.
Pour the mixture into a buttered basin that will hold it and boil for 30 minutes.
Alternative method
Alternatively, boil a quart of milk with a piece of cinnamon and lemon peel until nearly cold.
Strain the milk and mix it with the beaten yolks of 6 eggs and the whites of 4 eggs.
Boil this mixture for 30 minutes.
Serve
Serve with wine 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.
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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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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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Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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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).
Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Set the custard by coagulating into a tender, sliceable structure as they heat.
- Cream or milk
- Provides moisture and richness, giving the custard a smooth, soft texture.
- Flour
- Thickens the liquid and helps the custard hold its shape.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the savoury eggs and dairy.
The step that matters
Boiling the custard mixture for 30 minutes. Egg proteins set as they heat, but too much heat makes them tighten and curdle, leaving the custard grainy. Keep the heat controlled so the pudding stays smooth.
“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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