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Dessert

Plum Pudding

A steamed plum pudding made with suet, molasses, milk, raisins, currants, citron, spices, baking powder, soda, and eggs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and currant are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,475 recipes. Both carry isoamyl acetate, which smells banana, pear. The science ↓

Plum Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine suet, molasses, milk, raisins, currants, citron, eggs, flour, spices, salt, baking powder, and soda dissolved in milk.

  2. Steam for four or five hours.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

851Calories
28 gProtein
15 gFat
151 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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. See the original page.

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.

  1. Milk + curranttop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together5,475 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).

  2. Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  3. Molasses + curranttop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,817 recipes
  4. Molasses + milktop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together7,243 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Currant + eggtop 26% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,734 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

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

What each ingredient does

Suet
Adds fat that keeps the pudding rich and tender as it steams.
Molasses
Adds sweetness, moisture, and a dark color with a deep flavor.
Eggs
Bind the batter and help it set firm as it cooks.
Baking powder
Releases gas that lifts the batter and gives a lighter crumb.
Milk
Adds moisture and dissolves the soda so it spreads evenly through the batter.
Raisins (in the method)
Add chewy texture and concentrated sweetness throughout the pudding.

The step that matters

Steaming for four or five hours. Steaming gives gentle, steady, moist heat that cooks the batter through without drying it. If the water boils low or dry, the pudding can scorch or set unevenly.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, milk, egg):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Raisinfits better
  3. Figfits better
  4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, milk, 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.

More plum pudding recipes

English 165Christmas 156Sauce 71Eggless 34Baked 33Vegetable 19 See all 649 →

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