Name: How We Cook in Tennessee
Ingredients: one cup raisins; one cup cold water; one cup sugar; two tablespoons butter; two cups of sugar; two tablespoons of flour; one pint buttermilk; half cup of butter; one pint milk; four tablespoons caramel; half teaspoon vanilla; one-third cup of sugar; one pound prunes till tender; three tablespoons sugar; half pint water; half cup prepared cocoanut soaked a few minutes in two cups milk; two cups milk; one tablespoon corn starch; half cup butter; two cups sugar; one cup milk; one cup grated cocoanut; half pound sugar; half pint sweet milk; quarter pound butter creamed; half pound grated cocoanut; two cups molasses; one tablespoon flour; one tablespoon cream; one pint molasses boiled fifteen minutes

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 ↓

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.

Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,075 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,721 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Raisins: Provide sweetness and a chewy texture in the filling.
Flour: Thickens the filling as it cooks, giving it body.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps balance the lemon's tartness.
Butter: Adds fat for richness and a tender, rounded flavour.
Lemon: Adds acidity and bright aroma from the juice and grated rind.

Swap the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, flour, buttermilk, milk, vanilla, corn):

Coconutfits about as well
Figfits about as well
Blueberryfits about as well
Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, flour, buttermilk, milk, vanilla, corn. 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.

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
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Water	not in our table	0
Prune	not in our table	0
Pie	not in our table	0

How We Cook in Tennessee