Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Steamed Orange Pudding II
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.
Make the batter
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs and beat well until fully combined.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, orange rind, and orange juice.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients, mixing until smooth.
Steam and serve
Pour the mixture into a greased pudding mold.
Steam for about 1 hour or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as they set during steaming.
- Butter
- Adds richness and tenderness, and carries flavour through the batter.
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the pudding as it cooks.
- Castor sugar
- Creams with the butter to trap air and adds sweetness.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during cooking so the pudding rises and becomes light.
- Orange juice
- Adds moisture and bright acidity to the batter.
The step that matters
Combine the wet and dry ingredients, mixing until smooth. Mixing too little leaves dry pockets of flour, while overmixing develops gluten and makes the pudding tough and dense. Stir just until the batter is smooth and evenly combined.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, flour, sugar):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, flour, sugar. 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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