Why it works: Lemon and almond 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 ↓
Baked Puddings
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Mix the boiling milk with the tons Us mois (or arrow-root) until smooth.
Add the cold milk, sugar, eggs, and grated lemon peel, and mix well.
Pour the mixture into a dish, filling it almost to the brim.
Bake
Cover the top with thin slices of plum pudding.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the quantity and quality of the contents.
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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Lemon + almondtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,655 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + almondtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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 custard and add richness and structure as they cook.
- Tons us mois
- Thickens the boiling milk so the batter becomes smooth and body-rich.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps soften the set custard texture.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base and moisture that the eggs set within.
The step that matters
Judging the bake time. Eggs set as they heat, and overbaking pushes the custard past its setting point, making it grainy, curdled, or watery. Check for a set centre rather than baking to a fixed time, since the record gives a range that depends on the batch.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, egg, lemon):
- Milletfits about as well
- Almondthe original
- Pistachiofits about as well
- Walnutfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, egg, lemon. 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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