Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Jelly Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Beat the egg yolks and sugar together.
Cream the butter in a separate bowl.
Mix the batter
Add the sweet cream to the butter and mix well.
Stir in the jelly.
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites and vanilla.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake until set.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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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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Butter + vanillatop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,050 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Cream + vanillatop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,301 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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
- Eggs
- Yolks add richness and help bind the batter; beaten whites trap air that gives lightness.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender, smooth texture.
- White sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps soften the texture of the pudding.
- Sweet cream
- Adds moisture and richness to the batter.
- Jelly
- Adds sweetness, fruity flavor and moisture to the batter.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Egg whites hold air only when beaten. Folding them in gently keeps that trapped air in the batter, so the pudding stays light instead of deflating and turning dense.
“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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