Why it works: Lemon and orange match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Lemon or Orange Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the flavouring
Zest the yellow rind of the lemons or oranges and mix it with the sugar.
Pound the sugar in a mortar, then add the pulp of the fruit, ensuring no rind, seeds, or pith remains.
In a bowl, combine the grated biscuits, brandy, and chopped candied peel.
Make the batter
Cream the butter in a separate bowl, then gradually add the eggs, mixing until well combined.
Incorporate the fruit mixture into the butter and egg mixture, stirring continuously.
Bake and serve
Line the edges of a pie dish with a rich crust and pour in the mixture.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until set.
Serve upside down on a fresh dish.
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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Lemon + orangetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,634 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Lemon + biscuittop 12% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together697 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
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Biscuit + orangetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together371 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
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Brandy + orangetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,706 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Brandy + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Enriches the batter with fat, giving a rich, tender texture once baked.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and set during baking to give the pudding its body.
- Lump sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and, when pounded with zest, draws out the citrus oils for aroma.
- Lemons or seville oranges
- Provide the acidity and bright citrus flavour of the pudding.
- Naples biscuits
- Add dry crumb structure that soaks up the fruit and butter mixture.
The step that matters
Incorporating the fruit mixture into the butter and egg mixture. Stirring continuously helps the batter emulsify evenly. If the mixture is added too quickly or not stirred, the butter may separate and the pudding can turn out greasy or grainy.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lemon, sugar, biscuit, brandy, butter, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits about as well
- Apricotfits about as well
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lemon, sugar, biscuit, brandy, butter, egg. 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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