Why it works: Milk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Minute Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
In a bowl, beat the egg whites and yolks separately.
Mix the flour with a little sweet milk to make a smooth paste.
Combine the flour mixture with the remaining sweet milk and salt.
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into a well-greased square pan.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20 to 30 minutes.
Cut into squares and serve with a hot 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.
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 + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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
- Eggs
- Whipped whites lighten the batter and the yolks enrich it, giving the pudding structure as it sets.
- Flour
- Starch thickens the milk and sets as it bakes, giving the pudding its body.
- Sweet milk
- Provides the liquid that the flour thickens and the eggs set, giving a moist, custard-like texture.
The step that matters
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Whipped egg whites hold air that makes the pudding light. Stirring them vigorously deflates the foam, so the pudding bakes dense instead of airy.
“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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