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Dessert

Swedish Pudding

A steamed pudding of molasses, sweet milk, raisins, flour, butter, soda, and egg, served with a brown sugar and nutmeg sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Chicago. Bethany union church. Woman's society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Raisin and flour 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 ↓

Swedish Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Make the pudding

  1. Combine molasses, sweet milk, raisins or dates, egg, flour, melted butter, and soda mixed with flour.

  2. Steam the mixture in cups or molds for thirty minutes.

Make the sauce

  1. Combine brown sugar, flour, butter, nutmeg, and enough boiling water to make it creamy.

Serve

  1. Serve the steamed pudding with the sauce.

  2. Serve the sauce over the pudding.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

965Calories
28 gProtein
27 gFat
152 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12

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

By Chicago. Bethany union church. Woman's society. [from old catalog]. 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. Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,075 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).

  3. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,623 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Milk + teatop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together738 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).

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

What each ingredient does

Molasses
Adds dark color, moisture and a deep sweet flavor to the pudding.
Flour
Provides the structure that sets the batter into a tender pudding as it steams.
Egg
Binds the batter and helps it set firmly during steaming.
Soda
Reacts with the acidic molasses to lift the batter and make the pudding lighter.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and a soft, moist crumb.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and moisture, and gives the sauce its caramel flavor.

The step that matters

Steaming the pudding. Steam is moist, gentle heat that sets the batter slowly, so the pudding stays moist and tender instead of drying out. The batter should be fully set before it is served.

Swap the nutmeg

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

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Nutmegthe original
  3. Gingerfits less well
  4. Clovefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, milk, raisin, flour, butter, egg, tea. 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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