Why it works: Flour and milk 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 ↓
Batter Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Beat the eggs very lightly, separating the whites and yolks.
Add the milk and salt to the yolks, then alternately add the whites and flour.
Cook and serve
Pour the mixture into a buttered mold.
Boil or steam for 2 hours.
Serve with cream 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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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 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).
Flour and milk 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
- Set the pudding and bind it into a firm, custard-like structure.
- Prepared flour
- Provides the starch and structure that hold the pudding together as it cooks.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softness, keeping the pudding tender rather than dry.
The step that matters
Folding in the whites with the flour. Beaten egg whites trap air that helps lighten the pudding. Adding them gently and alternately with the flour keeps that air in, while vigorous stirring would deflate the batter and make the pudding heavy.
“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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