Why it works: Milk and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,243 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓
Boiled Corn Meal Pudding, Without Eggs
Ingredients
Directions
Mix and tie
Stir a pint and a half of well-sifted cornmeal, a teaspoonful of salt, a cupful of molasses, half a cupful of chopped suet, and a teaspoonful of dissolved soda into one quart of boiling milk.
Tie the mixture tightly in a cloth, allowing room for it to swell.
Boil and serve
Boil for four hours.
Serve with sweet sauce.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| 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.
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Milk + molassestop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,243 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cornmeal (in the method)
- Forms the main structure of the pudding as its starch thickens and sets during boiling.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid that hydrates the cornmeal and keeps the pudding moist.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color and moisture, and its acidity reacts with the soda.
- Suet
- Adds fat that enriches the texture and keeps the pudding moist.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to release gas, helping the pudding rise without eggs.
The step that matters
Tie the cloth tightly with room to swell. Cornmeal expands as it cooks and the batter gives off gas. A cloth tied too snugly can burst or squeeze the pudding dense, while leaving room lets it rise and hold its shape.
“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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