Why it works: Raisin and flour 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 ↓
Plum Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the batter
Mix the dried raisins, breadcrumbs, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Whisk together the milk and eggs in another bowl.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients until well mixed.
Shape and cook
Place the mixture in a cloth, roll it into a cylindrical shape, and tie it securely.
Boil water in a pot and place the pudding in the boiling water, cooking for about 2 hours.
Steam the pudding in a steamer for half the time.
Serve warm.
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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Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,155 recipes
Shared aroma: decanoic acid (acides aroma).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Bind the batter and help the pudding set as it cooks.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the pudding together when cooked.
- Breadcrumbs
- Absorb the milk and add a soft, tender texture to the pudding.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during cooking so the pudding rises and becomes lighter.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the pudding brown slightly as it cooks.
The step that matters
Shaping and tying the cloth. The cloth must be tied firmly so the pudding keeps its shape and water cannot seep in during the long boil or steam. A loose tie lets water soak the batter and makes the pudding soggy.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, milk, egg):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits less well
- Blueberryfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, milk, egg. 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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