Why it works: Flour and raisin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Paste Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the custard base
Heat the milk in a saucepan until it reaches a boil.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour with a small amount of cold milk to form a paste.
Gradually add the paste to the boiling milk, stirring continuously for a few moments to cook the mixture.
Sweeten the mixture to taste, then remove from heat and let it cool.
Assemble and bake
Once cooled, stir in the butter, beaten eggs, sherry or brandy, and raisins.
Pour the mixture into a pudding dish lined with pie paste.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) until the pudding rises in the middle.
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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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,505 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Flour and butter 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
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the pudding, which thickens and sets as it cooks.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk when cooked, giving the pudding body and structure.
- Eggs
- Set during baking to give the pudding a tender, custard-like structure and help it rise.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, contributing to a smoother texture and flavour.
- Pie paste
- Forms a crust lining the dish, holding the filling while it bakes.
The step that matters
Cooking the flour paste into the boiling milk. Flour must be stirred in smoothly and cooked for a few moments; adding it lumpy or undercooking it leaves a raw floury taste and uneven thickening.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, flour, sugar, butter, egg, sherry):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits about as well
- Apricotfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, flour, sugar, butter, egg, sherry. 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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