Why it works: Milk and corn are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,955 recipes. Both carry hexanal, which smells green, grassy. The science ↓
Orange Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the oranges
Remove seeds from the orange slices and place them in a bowl.
Sprinkle the sugar over the oranges and set aside.
Make the custard
In a saucepan, heat the milk until boiling by placing it in boiling water.
Whisk in the beaten egg yolks and corn starch mixed with a little cold milk.
Stir constantly until the mixture thickens, then pour it over the oranges.
Top and bake
Beat the egg whites until stiff, adding the tablespoon of sugar, then spread over the top.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for a few minutes until set.
Serve cold or hot.
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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Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Orange + corntop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together586 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Orange + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,696 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Oranges
- Provide the main fruit flavor and juicy base beneath the custard.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard and add richness to the pudding.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, giving it creaminess.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the custard so it sets smoothly when heated.
- Egg whites
- Whip into a stiff meringue that browns and sets on top.
The step that matters
Stir the custard constantly until it thickens. Egg yolks and starch can curdle or form lumps if the mixture overheats or sits still. Constant stirring spreads the heat evenly so the custard thickens smoothly before it is poured over the fruit.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, egg, corn):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk, egg, corn. 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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