Why it works: Allspice and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Spice Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Mix one cup of milk, one cup flour, one cup molasses, one cup cornmeal, one-half teaspoonful allspice, one-half cup chopped suet or broken butter, one teaspoonful salt, one teaspoonful soda, one-half teaspoonful cloves, one teaspoonful cinnamon, and one cup raisins or chopped figs or dates or sweet apples.
Steam for three hours in a mold with a chimney.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 8 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 |
| Clove | 1 tsp ground (2g) | 7 |
| Allspice | 1 tsp ground (1.9g) | 5 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 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.
-
Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Clove + raisintop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,070 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Allspice + raisintop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,475 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
-
Milk + teatop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together738 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the pudding together as it steams.
- Cornmeal
- Adds a coarser, crumbly texture and body to the batter.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and a dark color and deep flavor.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and tender while it steams.
- Soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that helps the pudding rise and lighten.
- Milk
- Adds liquid that hydrates the flour and cornmeal into a spoonable batter.
The step that matters
Keep the steam steady for the full three hours. Steaming cooks the pudding gently and evenly, so the mold must stay over steadily boiling water. If the water boils dry or the steam drops, the pudding cooks unevenly and can turn heavy or underdone in the center.
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, flour, molasses, clove, raisin, tea):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, flour, molasses, clove, raisin, tea. 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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