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 ↓
Cherry Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and add the milk.
Stir in the flour and melted butter until well combined.
Add the baking powder and mix thoroughly.
Fold in the floured cherries.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold them into the mixture.
Steam and serve
Pour the batter into a greased mold and steam for 1½ 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.
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 + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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
- Eggs
- Whipped whites give the pudding lift and a light, airy crumb; yolks add richness.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the gluten structure that holds the pudding together as it sets.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during heating, helping the pudding rise and become tender.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a softer, more tender texture.
- Milk
- Provides moisture and hydrates the flour to form the batter.
- Cherries
- Add fruit moisture and flavor throughout the pudding.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Stiff whites hold air that makes the pudding light. Overmixing or stirring vigorously knocks out that air and the pudding turns dense. Fold gently, in a few sweeps, until no white streaks remain.
“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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