Why it works: Pear and vanilla match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 334 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓
Pear, Peach or Apple Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In another bowl, combine the sugar, milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until smooth.
Bake and serve
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Arrange the sliced fruit on top of the batter.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
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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Pear + vanillatop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together334 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the pudding together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the batter rises and becomes light.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving the pudding a tender texture and flavor.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown as the pudding bakes.
- Milk
- Supplies moisture that hydrates the flour and forms the batter.
The step that matters
Stirring the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stirring only until smooth keeps the batter tender. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour, which can make the pudding tough and dense.
Swap the pear
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, flour, butter, vanilla):
- Figfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Peachfits better
- Pearthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk, flour, butter, 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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