Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Indian 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.
Make the batter
Pour boiling milk over Indian meal and mix in butter and sugar.
Add molasses and stir until combined.
When cool, stir in beaten eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brandy.
Beat the mixture well and pour into a buttered pudding dish.
Bake and serve
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour.
Serve hot with wine sauce.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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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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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Indian meal
- Cornmeal thickens the hot milk into a soft, set pudding body.
- Eggs
- Beaten eggs set during baking, binding the pudding and giving it a custardy richness.
- Molasses
- Adds deep sweetness and dark color, and contributes to the pudding's characteristic flavor.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smoother, richer texture and mouthfeel.
- Milk
- Hydrates the cornmeal as it cooks, forming the pudding's base.
The step that matters
Pour the boiling milk over the Indian meal. Cornmeal must be hydrated in hot liquid so its starches swell and thicken properly. Adding eggs only after the mixture cools keeps them from scrambling, which would make the texture grainy.
“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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