Name: Thanksgiving Pudding
Ingredients: one cup of molasses; two cups of milk; one teaspoon of soda; two pounds of raisins; one pound of currants; a cup of butter; a pound of citron

Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Thanksgiving Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

Mix two-thirds cup butter, one cup molasses, two cups milk, one teaspoon soda, and four eggs.
Stir in two pounds raisins (stoned and chopped), one pound currants, a fourth of a pound citron, a little salt, and enough flour to make the batter as stiff as pound cake.

Steam and serve

Steam the mixture for six hours.
Serve with sauce.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

420Calories

9 gProtein

20 gFat

56 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Molasses	1 tbsp (20g)	58
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49

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

By Des Moines. Plymouth church. [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.

Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,180 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,577 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Milk + raisintop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,155 recipes

Shared aroma: decanoic acid (acides aroma).
Milk + curranttop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together5,475 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs (in the method): Bind the batter and set into a firm structure as the pudding steams.
Flour (in the method): Gives the batter the stiff body that holds the pudding together.
Butter: Adds richness and a tender texture to the crumb.
Molasses: Adds sweetness, moisture and a dark color.
Soda: Reacts with the acidic molasses to lift and lighten the pudding.
Milk: Moistens the batter and helps the ingredients blend smoothly.

The step that matters

Stiffen the batter with flour. Flour's starch and proteins set during cooking and give the pudding its body. A batter that is too loose will steam into a wet, heavy pudding instead of a firm, sliceable one.

Swap the currant

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

Figfits better
Vanillafits better
Applefits about as well
Currantthe original

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

Molasses Cookies96 recipes

Molasses Cake90 recipes

Red Currant Jelly65 recipes

Currant Ice Cream32 recipes

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Thanksgiving Pudding