Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Suet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins or currants, and chopped suet.
Stir in the milk and molasses until well combined.
Steam
Pour the mixture into a buttered mold.
Steam the pudding for three hours.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cinnamon + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Nutmeg + raisintop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the main structure that holds the pudding together as it cooks.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses's acidity to produce gas that lightens the pudding.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and rich during steaming.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and acidity, and deepens color and flavor.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flour and binds the batter into a pourable mixture.
The step that matters
Steam the pudding for three hours. Steaming must be gentle and continuous, with the mold kept covered and water topped up, so the pudding cooks through evenly without drying out. Too little heat or water loss leaves it dense or dry.
“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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