Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Custard Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the custard
Infuse the milk with the vanilla pod for 20 minutes over low heat.
Strain the milk into a bowl with the cream and add the sugar.
Heat the mixture until it boils, then gradually pour it over the beaten egg yolks, stirring constantly.
Cook and serve
Pour the mixture into a well-buttered mold and gently boil it for 1 hour.
Let it stand for 5 minutes before turning it out onto a plate.
Serve with fresh fruit syrup or clear fruit jelly.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard as they set, giving it a firm, sliceable body.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that carries the vanilla flavour and sets with the eggs.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smoother, softer texture to the custard.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and adds to its softness when set.
- Vanilla pod
- Infuses aroma and flavour into the milk.
The step that matters
Pouring the hot milk over the egg yolks. Adding hot liquid to yolks too quickly can scramble them. Pouring gradually while stirring constantly tempers the yolks so the custard thickens smoothly instead of curdling.
“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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