Why it works: Flour and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,673 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Albert Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Beat the butter until creamy.
Add the sugar and egg yolks, whisk until white.
Dredge in the flour, then add the minced peel, almonds, and brandy.
Fold in the whipped egg whites gently.
Boil
Boil in a covered mold for at least 2 hours.
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 + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + almondtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air and give a rich, tender crumb.
- Eggs
- Yolks enrich and bind the batter; whipped whites add lift and a lighter texture.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the starch and gluten that give the pudding its structure.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the butter and eggs whisk into a smooth, airy base.
- Minced peel
- Adds concentrated citrus aroma and a slightly bitter, bright flavor.
- Brandy
- Adds warm aroma and flavor that carries through the steamed pudding.
The step that matters
Fold in the whipped egg whites gently. Whipped egg whites hold air bubbles that give the pudding its lift. Vigorous stirring deflates them, leaving a dense, heavy texture after steaming.
“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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