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 ↓
Suet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Combine suet, sour milk, salt, raisins, flour, baking soda, molasses, and egg in a large bowl, then mix until well combined.
Steam
Pour the mixture into a greased pudding mold.
Steam for 2 hours until fully cooked.
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 + molassestop 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
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the pudding together as it sets.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and helps it set firm during steaming.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in sour milk to produce gas that lifts the pudding.
- Sour milk
- Adds moisture and acidity that activates the baking soda.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and tender.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, depth of flavor, and a dark color with moisture.
The step that matters
Steam for the full 2 hours. Gentle, steady steam heats the batter through to the center, so the flour and egg fully set. Stopping early leaves a dense, raw-textured middle, while the water must be kept topped up so the steam does not run out.
“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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