Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Prune 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
Stone and mince the stewed prunes.
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
Gradually add the sugar to the egg whites, mixing well.
Bake and serve
Fold in the prunes in small portions until thoroughly combined.
Pour the mixture into a baking pan.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20 minutes.
Cover the top and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven, cool, and serve with whipped cream flavored as desired.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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 whites
- Whipped to stiff foam, they give the pudding its light, airy structure as they set in the oven.
- Stewed prunes
- Provide moisture, fruit sweetness and a dense, soft body to the pudding.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps stabilise the whipped egg whites.
The step that matters
Fold in the prunes in small portions. Folding gently in small portions keeps the air in the whipped egg whites. Dumping the prunes in at once or stirring vigorously deflates the foam, leaving a dense, flat pudding.
“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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