Name: Lemon Pudding
Ingredients: juice and peel of 2 lemons; 6 ounces loaf sugar, pounded; ½ cup grated bread crumbs; 4 eggs (2 whites reserved); 3 ounces fresh butter

Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Lemon Pudding

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

juice and peel of 2 lemons
6 ounces loaf sugar, pounded
½ cup grated bread crumbs
4 eggs (2 whites reserved)
3 ounces fresh butter

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the lemon

Soak the lemon juice and peel together, rubbing the peel with lumps of sugar.

Make the pudding

In a bowl, combine the pounded sugar and grated bread crumbs.
Beat the eggs and add them to the mixture, leaving out 2 egg whites.
Melt the butter and mix it into the lemon mixture.
Edge and trim a dish with puff pastry, then pour in the lemon mixture.

Bake

Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 45 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together22,662 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,227 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together98,233 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Bind the mixture and help it set into a custard-like texture as it bakes.
Fresh butter: Adds richness and a silky mouthfeel to the pudding.
Grated bread crumbs: Absorb liquid and give the pudding body and structure.
Loaf sugar: Sweetens the pudding and balances the sharpness of the lemon.