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Savoury Custard

A steamed custard made from eggs and clear soup, served in slices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Savoury Custard

Why it works: Egg and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓

Savoury Custard

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. Whisk the egg yolks and egg white together, then mix in the clear soup.

  2. Pour the mixture into a buttered gallipot.

  3. Cover the top with buttered paper.

  4. Place the gallipot in a saucepan with 2-3 inches of hot water, ensuring the water does not touch the paper.

Steam and serve

  1. Steam gently for about 15 minutes until set.

  2. Let it cool, then cut into thin slices.

  3. Shape the slices into small circles or diamonds and place them in the soup to serve.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Egg yolks
Provide richness and help the custard set into a smooth, tender texture when heated.
Egg white
Adds protein that sets during gentle steaming, giving the custard firm structure.
Clear soup
Supplies the liquid base and savoury flavour that the eggs set within.

The step that matters

Steam gently. Egg proteins set at moderate heat; a vigorous boil or water touching the paper can cause bubbles, holes, or a rough, overcooked texture in the custard.

“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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