Name: Citrus Christmas Pudding
Ingredients: 3 oz Plain flour, sifted; 2 tsp Ground mixed spice; 1/2 tsp Salt; 4 oz Fresh white breadcrumbs; 3 oz Light brown sugar; 6 oz Sultannas; 6 oz Currants; 6 oz Raisins; 1 oz Mixed peel; 4 oz Shredded suet; Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon & 1 orange; 2 med Eggs, beaten; 5 fl oz Stout; 2 tbsp Orange liqueur or extra orange juice

Why it works: Flour and raisin 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.

Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,075 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Lemon + orangetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,634 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Currant + raisintop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,180 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
Raisin + orangetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,684 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,481 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Bind the mixture and add structure as the pudding sets during steaming.
Plain flour: Provides structure and helps hold the dense fruit and crumb mixture together.
Shredded suet: Adds fat and richness, keeping the pudding moist and tender.
Fresh white breadcrumbs: Absorb liquid and lighten the texture of the dense pudding.
Light brown sugar: Adds sweetness and a molasses note that deepens the flavour.
Stout: Adds moisture and a malty, slightly bitter depth to the fruit.

The step that matters

Steaming with topped-up water. Steaming gently for 5 hours cooks the dense mixture evenly without drying it. If the water boils dry, the basin scorches and the pudding can turn out heavy or dry, so the level must be checked and topped up.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, raisin, lemon, orange, egg):

Vanillafits better
Figfits better
Limefits better
Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, raisin, lemon, orange, 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Citrus Christmas Pudding