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 ↓
Custard
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Boil the milk and then let it cool.
Make the custard
In a bowl, beat the eggs separately, starting with the yolks.
Add sugar to the yolks and beat again.
Blend in the sifted flour and salt.
Add the beaten egg whites and mix well.
Stir in the cooled milk or cream.
Butter the baking dish and pour in the mixture.
Bake
Bake in the moderate oven until set, being careful not to let it boil.
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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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Egg yolks and whites set the custard and give it its structure as it bakes.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base that gives the custard its soft, creamy body.
- Sifted flour
- Helps thicken the custard and keeps the texture smooth and stable.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the eggs and milk.
The step that matters
Bake until just set, without boiling. Egg proteins set as they heat, and too much heat makes them tighten and curdle, leaving a grainy, watery custard. Baking gently in a moderate oven keeps the texture smooth.
“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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