Name: English Plum Pudding
Ingredients: one-half pounds of seedless raisins; half pounds of citron; three-fourth pound of suet; three-fourth pound of bread crumbs; one teaspoon of cinnamon; one-half pint of grape; one-half cup of butter; one-half cup of sugar; one-half cup of cream; one-half nutmeg; five eggs until light

Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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.

Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,917 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,390 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,377 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

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.
Suet: Adds richness and fat that keeps the pudding moist and tender.
Bread crumbs: Absorb liquid and give the pudding body and a soft crumb.
Seedless raisins: Add sweetness, chewy texture and moisture to the pudding.
Grape juice: Adds moisture and fruity sweetness to the batter.

The step that matters

Steam for five hours in a cloth. Steaming gently cooks the egg and crumb mixture through without drying it out. The cloth must be wrapped firmly so the pudding holds its shape and the steam heats it evenly over the long cook.

Swap the grape

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, bread, cinnamon, butter, sugar, cream, nutmeg):

Vanillafits better
Figfits better
Coconutfits better
Grapethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, bread, cinnamon, butter, sugar, cream, nutmeg. 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
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6

English Plum Pudding