Why it works: Gelatin and cream match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,628 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Maraschino Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
In a saucepan, whisk together eggs, sugar, milk, and cornstarch.
Dissolve gelatin in ½ cup of water and add to the mixture.
Flavor with maraschino liqueur.
Mold and set
Wet a mold with maraschino and place a few cherries at the bottom.
Pour the custard into the mold and refrigerate until set.
Serve
Once cold, turn out the pudding and serve with whipped cream.
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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Gelatin + creamtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,628 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Sugar + gelatintop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,778 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Thicken the custard as they set, giving the pudding its body.
- Gelatin
- Sets the liquid custard so the pudding holds its shape when turned out.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the milk mixture so the custard becomes smooth and firm.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and balances the liqueur's flavor.
- Milk
- Forms the creamy base of the custard.
The step that matters
Dissolve gelatin in the water before adding it. Gelatin must be fully dissolved to set evenly. Lumps or undissolved granules leave weak spots, so the pudding may not hold its shape when turned out.
“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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