Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Sweet Apple Pudding, No 12
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.
Prepare
Pare, core, and slice the sweet apples, yielding a full quart.
In a stone or earthen crock, heat 2 quarts of milk until just boiling, ensuring it does not scorch.
Stir in the cornmeal and beat thoroughly to remove lumps.
Cook the mixture for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat.
Make the batter
Add 1 quart of cold milk to thin the batter, then stir in the apples, sugar, and flour, mixing well.
Pour the batter into a deep pudding dish or keep it in the crock and place it in the oven.
Bake
Bake in a water bath at 300°F (150°C) for 3 to 4 hours, stirring several times during the first hour until browned on top.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Milk + appletop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,104 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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
- Cornmeal
- Forms the thick body of the pudding as its starch thickens in the hot milk.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base that the cornmeal swells in and gives the pudding moisture.
- Sweet apples
- Add moisture and fruity sweetness, softening as the pudding bakes slowly.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the top brown during the long bake.
- White flour
- Adds extra body to help the batter set and hold together.
The step that matters
Heating the milk without scorching. Milk proteins and sugars scorch easily on hot metal or stone, leaving burnt flavor and specks in the pudding. Gentle heating and constant attention keep the milk clean and smooth.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, flour, butter):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, flour, 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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