Why it works: Gelatin and cream match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,628 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Frozen Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Bring the milk to a boil.
In a bowl, beat the eggs, flour, and 1 cup of sugar together.
Stir the egg mixture into the boiling milk and cook for 20 minutes.
Soak the gelatin in cold water, then add it to the mixture and let it cool.
Finish and freeze
Once cool, add the sherry wine, remaining sugar, and cream.
Freeze for 10 minutes, then add the candied cherries and finish freezing.
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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Gelatin + creamtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,628 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Sugar + gelatintop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,778 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,479 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Set the custard as they cook and thicken the milk mixture.
- Flour
- Thickens the custard so it holds body after freezing.
- Gelatin
- Gives the frozen pudding a firm, stable set that resists melting.
- Cream
- Adds richness and fat, giving a smoother, creamier texture.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and softens the texture by lowering the freezing point.
The step that matters
Stirring the egg mixture into the boiling milk. Eggs can scramble if added to very hot liquid without enough stirring. Stirring while pouring, then cooking gently, keeps the custard smooth and lets the flour and eggs thicken evenly.
“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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