Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Batter Pudding, Baked
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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat the egg yolks and set aside.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Make the batter
Combine the milk, salt, and baking powder with the egg yolks.
Gradually add the sifted flour to the mixture, stirring until smooth.
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites.
Pour the batter into an earthen dish.
Bake and serve
Bake for 45 minutes until golden and set.
Serve with a rich sauce.
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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Flour + milktop 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).
-
Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk 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
- Whipped whites give lift, while yolks add richness and help set the batter.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides structure as the batter sets during baking.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and helps form a tender, custard-like crumb.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking, helping the pudding rise.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Gentle folding keeps the air trapped in the whites. Stirring or deflating them makes the pudding dense and reduces its rise.
“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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