Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Baked Indian 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 cornmeal
Stir the salt into the cornmeal.
Gradually pour the boiling water over the salted cornmeal and beat until smooth.
Cook the pudding base
Heat the milk in a large double boiler.
Stir the scalded cornmeal into the heated milk and boil for 1 hour.
Whip the eggs until light, then mix in the molasses, melted butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Slowly add the boiled cornmeal mixture to the egg mixture, beating steadily.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into a greased pudding dish and bake covered at 350°F (175°C) for nearly 1 hour.
Uncover and brown the top before serving.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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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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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Molasses + cinnamontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,928 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Yellow cornmeal
- Thickens the milk as it cooks, giving the pudding its body and grainy texture.
- Eggs
- Set during baking to give the pudding structure and a custard-like firmness.
- Milk
- Forms the main liquid base and, with the cornmeal, gives the pudding its creamy body.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and a deep caramel-like flavour, and helps the top brown.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, softening the texture and adding flavour.
The step that matters
Slowly add the boiled cornmeal mixture to the egg mixture, beating steadily.. Adding hot cornmeal to eggs too quickly can scramble them. Adding it slowly while beating steadily tempers the eggs, so the mixture stays smooth and sets evenly in the oven.
“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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