Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Cocoa-nut 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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then set aside.
In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and butter until creamy.
Make the pudding
Add the grated coconut, flour, and sweet milk to the egg yolk mixture and mix well.
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites.
Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish and bake for about 30‑40 minutes or 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.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Coconut + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,648 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Coconut + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,467 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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 enrich and set the custard, while whipped whites lighten its texture.
- Flour
- Starch thickens the milk and helps the pudding hold its shape when set.
- Grated coconut
- Adds moisture, body and coconut flavor throughout the pudding.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps the yolks become smooth and creamy when beaten.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender, smooth texture.
- Sweet milk
- Provides the liquid base that the eggs and flour set into a custard.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whipped whites hold air that gives lightness; stirring them vigorously deflates the foam, so fold gently until just combined for a lighter, more tender pudding.
Swap the coconut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, flour, sugar, milk):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits about as well
- Coconutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, flour, sugar, milk. 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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