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Dessert

Steamed Pudding

A steamed pudding made with flour, milk, sugar, molasses, raisins, butter, and soda.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Johnson, Vt. Congregational church. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 20 ingredients
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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 ↓

Steamed Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Steam and cut

  1. Steam for 2 hours.

  2. When baked, cut into 3 inch squares, split and spread with jelly.

Assemble and finish

  1. Put together in a deep dish: 1 pint milk brought to boil, yolks of 2 eggs, 1 cupful sugar beaten and stirred in the milk, flavor with lemon and pour over cake.

  2. Make frosting of the whites and pour over the top.

  3. Place jelly on top.

  4. Steam for 3 hours.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1311Calories
54 gProtein
36 gFat
196 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 13 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Sour Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Yogurt170g plain Greek100
Raisin1 small box (28g)85
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Waternot in our table0

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

By Johnson, Vt. Congregational 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.

  1. Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,075 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Nutmeg + raisintop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).

  3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,623 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 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

Flour
Forms the main structure of the batter as its proteins set during cooking.
Eggs
Add structure and richness, helping the batter bind and set.
Molasses
Adds sweetness, moisture and a dark color with a deep flavor.
Butter
Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
Baking soda
Reacts with acidic sour milk or sour cream to release gas that lifts the batter.
Milk
Adds moisture and helps form the batter and custard.

The step that matters

Keeping the steam steady during the long steaming. Steaming cooks the pudding gently and keeps it moist. If the water boils dry or steam escapes, the pudding can dry out and turn dense, so the water level should be checked and topped up during the long steam.

Swap the nutmeg

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

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Nutmegthe original
  3. Gingerfits less well
  4. Allspicefits less well

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