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 ↓
Graham Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a large bowl, combine molasses, sweet milk, graham flour, egg, raisins, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased pudding mold.
Steam and serve
Steam for 3 hours.
Serve with 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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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + raisintop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,155 recipes
Shared aroma: decanoic acid (acides aroma).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk and flour 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
- Graham flour
- Provides the bulk and the hearty, coarse structure of the pudding.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and helps it set as it steams.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas, lightening the pudding.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, and moisture with a rich flavor.
- Sweet milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter so it can fill the mold.
- Raisins
- Add pockets of chewy sweetness throughout the pudding.
The step that matters
Steam for 3 hours. Steaming must be gentle and steady so the pudding cooks through evenly without drying. Water should not boil dry, because the mold needs constant moist heat to set the batter.
“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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