Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Bread Pudding, Steamed
Ingredients
Directions
Steam the mixture for three hours.
Serve with egg sauce or hard sauce.
Beat two eggs separately with three-quarters cup sugar.
Beat whites to a stiff froth.
Beat yolks and sugar until light.
Combine the mixtures.
Flavor with vanilla.
Do not make until ready to serve.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| 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.
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.
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
-
Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Provide structure and lift when whites are beaten, and enrich the pudding.
- Bread crumbs
- Form the body of the pudding and absorb the milk and molasses.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, moisture and a deep flavor.
- Saleratus
- Releases gas in the moist batter, helping the pudding rise and become light.
- Butter
- Adds fat that makes the pudding tender and rich.
- Milk
- Moistens the bread crumbs and helps form a soft, cohesive batter.
The step that matters
Do not make until ready to serve.. Saleratus starts reacting as soon as it meets the wet batter, and beaten whites slowly deflate. Steaming soon after mixing keeps the pudding lighter, so letting the batter stand weakens both the rise and the airy texture.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, molasses, bread, butter, sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Applefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, molasses, bread, butter, sugar, 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.
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