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
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the flour and eggs until smooth.
Beat the mixture with a strong wooden spoon.
Add milk gradually until the batter reaches a proper consistency.
Finish and bake
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg whites into the batter just before baking.
If using fruit, thicken the batter to prevent sinking.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) until cooked through.
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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Egg + milktop 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
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the starch and gluten network that gives the pudding its main structure.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and set during baking, giving the pudding its firm, custard-like body.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter to the right consistency, which affects the final texture.
The step that matters
Fold the egg whites in gently, just before baking. Whipped egg whites trap air that helps the pudding rise. Stirring them in vigorously knocks that air out, and waiting too long lets the foam collapse, so the pudding rises less.
“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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