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Dessert

Raisin Pudding

A steamed pudding made with molasses, shortening, eggs, milk, currants, raisins, baking soda, and spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Currant and raisin are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,180 recipes. Both carry gamma-nonanolactone, which smells coconut, creamy. The science ↓

Raisin Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. In a large bowl, mix together molasses and shortening until well combined.

  2. Add eggs and milk, and stir until smooth.

  3. Fold in currants, raisins, and baking soda.

  4. Add spices to taste.

Steam and serve

  1. Pour the mixture into a greased pudding mold.

  2. Steam for 2 hours.

  3. Serve with hard sauce.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Currant + raisintop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,180 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).

  2. Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,577 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Milk + raisintop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,155 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanoic acid (acides aroma).

  4. Milk + curranttop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together5,475 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).

  5. Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Molasses
Provides dark sweetness and moisture, and a deep, rich flavour.
Shortening
Adds fat for a tender crumb and helps blend the batter smooth.
Eggs
Bind the batter and add structure as the pudding sets.
Milk
Adds moisture and loosens the batter for an even texture.
Baking soda
Reacts with the acidic molasses to lift and lighten the pudding.
Raisins
Add chewy texture and concentrated sweetness throughout the pudding.

The step that matters

Steam for 2 hours. Steaming gently cooks the pudding with moist heat, so it sets without drying out. The mold must be sealed and the water kept simmering, or the pudding can turn dense or dry.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, egg, milk, raisin):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Figfits better
  3. Datesfits about as well
  4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, egg, milk, raisin. 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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