Why it works: Apricot and sherry work together. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 173 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓
Apricot Pudding, Baked
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a steady oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the base
Boil the milk.
Pour the boiled milk over the breadcrumbs and let them soak for 30 minutes.
Pass the apricots through a fine sieve.
Mix the apricot pulp with lemon juice, sugar, sherry, 3 egg yolks, and 1 egg white.
Prepare a pie dish with the short crust pastry.
Combine the soaked breadcrumbs and milk with the apricot mixture and pour into the dish.
Bake and top
Bake in a steady oven at 350°F (175°C) until set.
Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, then gradually add 1 tablespoon of sugar.
When the pudding is three-quarters baked and the apricot mixture is set, spread the meringue on top.
Sprinkle the surface with sugar and optionally decorate with strips of crystallized apricots.
Return to the oven and bake until the meringue is a pale fawn color.
Serve
Serve hot or 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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Apricot + sherrytop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together173 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Apricot + milktop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together826 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Apricot + lemontop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,098 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,479 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
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Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 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
- Apricots
- Provide the main fruit flavor and moisture for the pudding base.
- Fresh breadcrumbs
- Absorb the hot milk and give the custard body and a soft structure.
- Eggs
- Set the apricot custard and whipped whites add lift to the meringue.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softness to the breadcrumb and egg mixture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps stabilize the whipped egg white meringue.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the apricot flavor.
The step that matters
Spread the meringue at the right moment. Whip the whites to stiff peaks and spread the meringue only once the apricot mixture is set. Stiff peaks trap air for a light topping, while spreading it onto a soft custard can cause the meringue to sink or weep.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apricot, sugar, milk, egg, sherry):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Peachfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against apricot, sugar, milk, egg, sherry. 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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