Why it works: Pineapple and vanilla match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 911 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓
Iced Pudding a LA Charles Kemble
Ingredients
Directions
Make the base
Combine the cream, egg yolks, pineapple syrup, sugar, corn flour, and vanilla sugar in a bowl.
Mix in the kirschwasser and freeze the mixture until firm.
Finish and freeze
Once frozen, fold in the diced pineapple, Sultana raisins, and whipped cream.
Mold the mixture into a desired shape and return to the freezer until ready to serve.
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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Pineapple + vanillatop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together911 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Syrup + sugartop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,842 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Corn + vanillatop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,943 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, creamy texture to the frozen mixture.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help emulsify and thicken the base for a smooth frozen texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and softens the frozen texture so it is not rock hard.
- Corn flour
- Thickens the base and gives body to the mixture as it sets.
- Whipped double cream
- Lightens the texture and adds airiness to the finished frozen pudding.
The step that matters
Freezing the base until firm. The base must freeze evenly and reach a firm but not rock-hard state before folding in the fruit and whipped cream. Stirring or checking during freezing helps prevent large ice crystals and keeps the texture smooth.
Swap the pineapple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, egg, syrup, sugar, corn, flour, vanilla):
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Pineapplethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, egg, syrup, sugar, corn, flour, vanilla. 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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