Why it works: Lemon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Custard Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the custard base
Boil the milk in a saucepan.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour with enough water to make a smooth paste.
Add the flour mixture to the boiling milk and stir until thickened.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Finish and bake
Stir in the egg yolks, lemon peel, brandy, and nutmeg.
Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until set.
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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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that sets into the body of the pudding.
- All-purpose flour
- Thickens the milk as its starch swells on heating, giving the custard body.
- Egg yolks
- Set with gentle heat to give the pudding its firm, creamy structure.
- Brandy
- Adds aroma and flavor, and its alcohol carries flavor compounds that the custard cannot otherwise hold.
- Lemon peel
- Adds aromatic oils that brighten the flavor of the custard.
The step that matters
Stir the flour paste into the boiling milk until thickened. Starch must be stirred constantly in hot liquid so it swells evenly; otherwise lumps form and the custard stays grainy and uneven in body.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, flour, egg, brandy, nutmeg):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, flour, egg, brandy, nutmeg. 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.
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