Why it works: Peach and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 625 recipes. Both carry methyl cinnamate, which smells strawberry. The science ↓
Peach Dumplings
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 peaches
Substitute peaches for apples in the dumpling recipe.
Prepare ripe peaches by peeling, slicing, and sprinkling with sugar.
Make the custard base
In a deep pan, combine the inside of a small loaf of baker's bread with butter.
Pour boiling milk over the bread and let it soak until saturated.
Mash the soaked bread until smooth.
Whisk the eggs until thick and light, then gradually stir them into the mixture.
Add the quart of milk and mix well.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into a pudding dish and sift cinnamon on top.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until done and cold.
Before serving, place the prepared peaches on top and sift white sugar over.
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.
-
Peach + cinnamontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together625 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Cream + saucetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,787 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Peaches
- Provide the fruit flavour and juice that moistens the dish as they cook.
- Eggs
- Whisked eggs set during baking, giving the pudding structure and a light, custard-like texture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, softening the bread and giving a smoother mouthfeel.
- Milk
- Soaks the bread and, with the eggs, forms the liquid custard that sets in the oven.
- Baker's bread (in the method)
- Absorbs the milk and provides the body that holds the pudding together.
The step that matters
Whisking the eggs. Whisking the eggs until thick and light traps air and helps the pudding rise and set with a light texture. Stirring them in gradually keeps the mixture smooth instead of lumpy.
Swap the peach
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, milk, egg, cinnamon, sugar, cream, sauce):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits about as well
- Peachthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, milk, egg, cinnamon, sugar, cream, sauce. 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.
You might also like
Cinnamon Rolls71 recipes
Peach Ice Cream64 recipes
Peach Fritters55 recipes
Cinnamon Cake42 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.