Why it works: Corn and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 485 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Caramel Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the custard
Scald the milk in a saucepan.
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with brown sugar and corn starch until well mixed.
Stir in the hot milk and add almond extract.
Pour the mixture into a dish.
Top and bake
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add brown sugar until stiff peaks form.
Spread the meringue over the pudding mixture.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until browned.
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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Corn + almondtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together485 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Milk + almondtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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 of the custard, giving the pudding its body and creamy texture.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard and add richness as they set with the hot milk.
- Brown sugar
- Sweetens the custard and meringue, and adds caramel flavour and some browning.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the custard so it holds its shape when cut or spooned.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a foam that forms the meringue topping, which sets and browns in the oven.
The step that matters
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Whites must be whipped until stiff and then sweetened gradually so the foam holds its volume. Under-whipped or deflated meringue will weep or sink into the custard instead of baking into a firm, browned topping.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, egg, sugar, corn):
- Almondthe original
- Peanutfits about as well
- Beansfits about as well
- Lima beansfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, egg, sugar, corn. 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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