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 ↓
Chocolate 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
In a bowl, mix the grated chocolate, sugar, cornstarch, and salt with 1 cup of the milk.
Beat the egg yolks until light and add them to the chocolate mixture.
Stir in the remaining milk and cook over medium heat until thickened.
Pour the mixture into a pudding dish and let it cool slightly.
Top and brown
Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gradually add 3 tablespoons of sugar.
Spread the meringue over the pudding and brown it in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C).
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 + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Milk + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,128 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, 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 and add richness as they set with heat.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the milk mixture into a smooth, sliceable pudding when heated.
- Grated chocolate
- Provides the chocolate flavour and deepens the colour of the pudding.
- Egg whites
- Whipped with sugar to form a meringue that browns on top.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that thickens into the custard.
The step that matters
Cooking the custard until thickened. Cornstarch only thickens fully when the mixture reaches a simmer, and the egg yolks can curdle if overheated. Stirring steadily over medium heat keeps the custard smooth.
“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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