Why it works: Milk and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Bun 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
Cut the buns into thin slices.
Place the sliced buns in a dish.
Beat the eggs well.
Add the milk and sugar and mix thoroughly.
Pour the egg mixture over the buns.
Cover with a plate and let it stand for 2 hours.
Bake and serve
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour.
Alternatively, steam for 1 hour if preferred.
Serve with lemon sauce.
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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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Stale buns
- Their dry, open crumb soaks up the custard and holds the pudding's shape.
- Eggs
- Set when heated, giving the pudding its firm, custard-like structure.
- Milk
- Moistens the bread and forms the custard that the eggs set into.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the custard brown lightly in the oven.
The step that matters
Let it stand for 2 hours. Standing lets the bread absorb the egg and milk mixture fully. Without this soaking, dry patches remain and the pudding bakes unevenly.
“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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