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 Whole Wheat Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Mix 1 cup milk, 1 cup molasses, 1 cup raisins or currants, ½ cup oil, and salt together, agitating the liquid with the batter and whipping until full of bubbles.
Sprinkle 2 cups whole wheat flour slowly with the left hand, keeping up the agitating motion with the right hand until the batter is foamy.
Put the foamy batter into a well‑oiled mold.
Let the mold stand in a cold place for ½ hour or longer.
Steam and serve
Set the mold in a steamer and steam for 3 or 4 hours.
Serve hot with a creamy, foamy, hard, or other sauce.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| 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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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + wheattop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
-
Wheat + breadtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together209 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
-
Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
-
Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Whole wheat flour
- Provides the structure that holds the pudding together as it steams.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color and a deep flavor to the pudding.
- Oil
- Adds fat for moisture and a tender crumb.
- Milk
- Supplies liquid that hydrates the flour and forms the batter.
- Raisins
- Add chewy pockets of sweetness and moisture throughout the pudding.
The step that matters
Whipping the liquid and folding in the flour slowly. Whipping traps air bubbles in the liquid, and adding flour slowly while agitating keeps the batter foamy. Those bubbles help the pudding stay light instead of dense and gummy once steamed.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, molasses, wheat, flour, bread):
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits about as well
- Vanillafits less well
- Datesfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, molasses, wheat, flour, bread. 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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