Why it works: Egg and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Prune Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Stew the prunes until soft and remove the stones.
Let the prunes cool.
Make the pudding
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
Gradually fold the prunes into the egg whites.
Stir in the sugar.
Pour the mixture into a buttered dish.
Bake and serve
Bake at 350°F (175°C) until golden brown.
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.
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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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 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
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a foam that gives the pudding its light, airy structure as it sets.
- Prunes
- Provide moisture, body and a rich, sweet fruit flavour throughout the pudding.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps stabilise the whipped egg white foam.
The step that matters
Gradually fold the prunes into the egg whites. Folding gently keeps the air beaten into the whites. Stirring or dumping the prunes in all at once deflates the foam, so the pudding bakes up dense instead of light.
“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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