Why it works: Orange and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,696 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓
Orange 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.
Prepare the oranges
Peel and slice the oranges, removing the seeds.
Sprinkle the sugar over the orange slices.
Make the custard
In a pot, heat the milk until boiling.
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and mix with cornstarch and a little cold milk until smooth.
Stir the egg mixture into the boiling milk until thickened, then pour over the oranges.
Top and bake
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, adding the tablespoon of sugar, and spread over the pudding.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for a few minutes to harden.
Serve
Serve cold or hot, but it's better cold.
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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Orange + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,696 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Orange + sugartop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,212 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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 milk mixture into a smooth, rich custard as they set with heat.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the custard so it holds its shape when cooled.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they form a light topping that sets and browns in the oven.
- Milk
- Forms the base of the custard, providing body and creaminess.
- Sweet oranges
- Provide the main fruit flavor and fresh, juicy texture.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the oranges and draws out their juice.
The step that matters
Stirring the egg mixture into the boiling milk. Adding the eggs to very hot milk can scramble them or leave lumps. Stir constantly and cook just until thickened so the custard stays smooth and sets properly.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk, egg. 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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