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 ↓
Graham Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Combine 1 egg, 1/2 cup molasses, 1/2 cup sweet milk, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 cup chopped raisins, 1/2 cup graham flour, 1/2 teaspoon soda dissolved in warm water, and a little nutmeg; steam for two hours.
Add 2 eggs, 2 cups sugar, 1 cup butter, and juice of 1 lemon.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Water | not in our table | 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.
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Raisin + lemontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,742 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Milk + raisintop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,155 recipes
Shared aroma: decanoic acid (acides aroma).
-
Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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 cooking.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender, moist crumb.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to lift and lighten the pudding.
- Raisins
- Add chewy texture and concentrated sweetness throughout.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps browning.
The step that matters
Dissolve the soda fully in warm water before adding it. Baking soda only lifts the batter when it is evenly dissolved and reacting. Undissolved lumps can leave bitter, soapy patches and uneven rising in the finished pudding.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, butter, egg, lemon):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Peachfits about as well
- Raisinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, butter, egg, lemon. 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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