Why it works: Almond and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,655 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Lemon 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
Blanch and beat the almonds.
Line a dish with puff pastry.
Make the filling
In a bowl, mix the sugar, beaten egg yolks, and egg whites.
Melt the butter and add it to the mixture.
Grate the lemon rinds and squeeze in the juice.
Pour the mixture into the pastry and bake for 30 minutes at 350°F (175°C).
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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Almond + lemontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,655 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Almond + buttertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help the filling thicken and set when baked.
- Egg whites
- Add structure and lightness to the filling as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smooth, rich texture in the filling.
- Sweet almonds
- Add body and a nutty flavour to the filling.
- Lemon juice
- Provides acidity and bright flavour that cuts the sweetness.
The step that matters
Pour the mixture into the pastry and bake for 30 minutes at 350°F (175°C). Egg-based fillings set through gentle heat. Too hot or too long can cause the eggs to curdle or the filling to become tough and grainy.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (almond, sugar, egg, butter):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against almond, sugar, egg, butter. 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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