Why it works: Molasses and ginger are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,116 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Indian Pudding— Cheap
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding
Mix all ingredients together gradually to break up lumps in the mush.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish.
Bake
Bake for about 30 minutes.
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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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Ginger + eggtop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,337 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Molasses + eggtop 34% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,879 recipes
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cornmeal mush
- Forms the main body of the pudding and sets as it bakes.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and rich in texture.
- Black molasses
- Adds sweetness and deep flavor, and helps color the pudding as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and help it set into a firm, sliceable custard.
The step that matters
Mix gradually to break up lumps in the mush. Cold cornmeal mush clumps easily. Adding the other ingredients gradually and stirring well spreads the liquids evenly, so the batter bakes smooth instead of holding dry pockets of cornmeal.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, egg. 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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