Name: Raisin Puffs
Ingredients: 1 cup raisins, chopped fine; 1 cup sweet milk; ½ cup butter; 2 tablespoons sugar; 3 teaspoons baking powder; 2 cups flour; 3 eggs; 2 cups sugar (for sauce); 1 cup butter (for sauce); 2 eggs (for sauce); 1 cup boiling water (for sauce)

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 ↓

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.

Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,075 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,481 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar + saucetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,147 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Butter and flour 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

Flour: Provides the structure that holds the puffs together as they set.
Eggs: Bind the batter and help set the puffs as they steam.
Baking powder: Releases gas during cooking so the puffs rise and turn light.
Butter: Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and carries flavor.
Sugar: Sweetens the puffs and the sauce and helps them brown lightly.
Raisins: Add sweetness and chewy pockets of fruit throughout the puffs.

Swap the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, butter, sugar, flour, egg, sauce):

Vanillafits about as well
Raisinthe original
Figfits less well
Coconutfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, butter, sugar, flour, egg, sauce. 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.