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 Puddings
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the batter
Mix the chopped suet, molasses, milk, raisins or currants, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.
Add the bread crumbs and graham flour, then stir in the eggs until well combined.
Cook and serve
Pour the mixture into a greased pudding mold.
Steam for 3 hours or bake at 350°F (175°C) for 2 hours.
Serve with lemon 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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Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Beef + milktop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,759 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).
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Beef + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,032 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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 help set the pudding as it cooks.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses acid to lighten the pudding and help it rise.
- Beef suet
- Adds richness and fat, keeping the pudding moist and tender.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark colour and a rich flavour, with acidity that activates the baking soda.
- Graham flour
- Provides body and structure, with a nutty, wholesome flavour.
The step that matters
Stir in the eggs until well combined. Eggs bind the wet and dry ingredients into an even batter; uneven mixing leaves pockets of dry flour or unmixed leavening, giving a patchy, dense texture.
“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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