Name: An Excellent Lemon Pudding
Ingredients: 4 large eggs, yolks only; ½ cup white sugar; Zest of 1 lemon; Juice of 1 large lemon; 4 to 5 ounces (½ to ⅔ cup) butter, warmed; 1 pie crust

Why it works: Lemon and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,227 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

An Excellent Lemon Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Make the filling

Beat the yolks of the eggs in a bowl.
Add the sugar and lemon zest. Mix well.
In a mortar, combine the lemon juice and the mixture.
Add the warmed butter.

Assemble and serve

Place the pie crust in a shallow dish. Nick the edges.
Pour the lemon mixture into the crust.
When ready to serve, turn the pudding out of the dish.

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.

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.

Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,227 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together98,233 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together44,316 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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: Egg yolks thicken the filling and give it a rich, custardy body.
Sugar: Sweetens the filling and helps balance the sharpness of the lemon.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity and bright lemon flavour that cuts through the richness.
Butter: Adds fat for a smoother, richer texture and mouthfeel.