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Macaroni Pudding

A savory pudding made with macaroni, eggs, cream, chicken, ham, and Parmesan cheese, steamed and served with gravy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Chicken and ham are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,497 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓

Macaroni Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Simmer macaroni in plenty of water with salt until tender but firm.

  2. Strain the water from the macaroni.

  3. Beat the egg yolks and egg whites together.

  4. Mince the chicken breast.

  5. Mix the minced chicken with ham, Parmesan cheese, and season with pepper.

  6. Combine the mixture with the macaroni.

Steam and serve

  1. Transfer to a well-buttered pudding mold.

  2. Steam in a pot of boiling water for about 1 hour.

  3. Serve hot with rich gravy.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Chicken + hamtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,497 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  2. Parmesan cheese + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,322 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  3. Chicken + parmesan cheesetop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,846 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  4. Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,958 recipes

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

  5. Egg + hamtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,526 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Macaroni
Forms the bulk of the pudding and gives it a tender, starchy body.
Eggs
Proteins set during steaming, binding the macaroni and filling into a firm, sliceable pudding.
Chicken breast
Adds savory meaty flavor and substance to the filling.
Parmesan cheese
Adds salty, savory depth that seasons the filling.
Ham
Contributes salty, smoky flavor to the filling.

The step that matters

Steam in a pot of boiling water for about 1 hour.. Steam heats the pudding gently and evenly, so egg proteins set into a smooth, firm custard-like texture. Letting the water boil dry or the heat run too high can make the eggs curdle or turn the pudding rubbery.

“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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