Why it works: Raisin and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,377 recipes. Both carry alpha-terpineol, which smells lilac, floral. The science ↓
English Fkuit Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Crumb the soft part of the bread finely.
Soak the crust with boiling milk, or water will do.
Beat up the eggs and mix all together thoroughly with a spoon.
Combine the currants, raisins, sugar, suet, bread, eggs, saleratus, salt, and nutmeg.
Boil
Take a square piece of cotton cloth and lay it in a tin pan.
Put the pudding into the cloth and tie it down close.
Put the tin pan into a pot of boiling water and boil for five hours.
As the water boils away, keep adding more water.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
-
Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
-
Currant + raisintop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,180 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
-
Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Currant + nutmegtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,983 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
-
Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Currants
- Add fruit flavour and chewy body to the pudding.
- Raisins
- Add sweetness and chewy body to the pudding.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and rich.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and help it set as it cooks.
- Bread (in the method)
- Soaked in milk, it gives the pudding its soft body.
- Saleratus
- Reacts to lighten the pudding as it cooks.
The step that matters
Keeping the water topped up while the pudding boils. If the pot boils dry, the pudding is exposed to air and heat unevenly, which can scorch or dry out the outside and leave the centre undercooked. Steady water keeps the cooking gentle and even over the long boil.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, sugar, egg, nutmeg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, sugar, egg, 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.
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