Why it works: Flour and raisin 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 ↓
Suet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Combine suet, sweet milk, molasses, flour, soda, and raisins.
Steam for three hours.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Coffee | 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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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Tea + coffeetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together259 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methyl-3-(methyldithio)furan (thiamin, meat).
-
Milk + coffeetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,202 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
-
Milk + teatop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together738 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
-
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
- Suet
- Melts during steaming to keep the pudding moist and tender.
- Flour
- Provides the starch and structure that set the batter into a solid pudding.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, dark color and a deep flavor.
- Soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to release gas that lightens the batter.
- Sweet milk
- Hydrates the flour and dissolves the soda and sugars into an even batter.
The step that matters
Steam for three hours. Gentle, steady steam heat cooks the batter through slowly and evenly. If the steaming water boils dry or the heat drops too low, the pudding can cook unevenly or turn heavy and dense.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, molasses, flour, tea, coffee):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits less well
- Peachfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, molasses, flour, tea, coffee. 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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