Why it works: Molasses and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
★ Emeline’s Indian Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding
Combine ⅞ cup Rhode Island meal (⅔ granular) with ½ cup molasses, ⅓-½ cup sugar, 1½ teaspoons salt, and 2 quarts skimmed milk in a pudding dish.
Stir 3 pints of boiling milk into the mixture.
Place the dish in the oven, pour the remaining pint of cold milk into the pudding without stirring, cover, and bake slowly for 3 to 4 hours.
Serve
Cool the pudding before serving to allow the jelly to set.
Serve the pudding warm or cold, plain or with whipped cream.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
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.
-
Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Rhode island meal
- Cornmeal that thickens the milk and gives the pudding its body and grainy texture.
- Molasses
- Adds deep sweetness, dark color and a caramel-like flavor as it bakes slowly.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps balance the strong molasses flavor.
- Skimmed milk (in the method)
- Provides the liquid that the cornmeal thickens and sets into a soft custard.
The step that matters
Adding the cold milk without stirring. Pouring the cold milk on top without stirring keeps it as a separate layer that bakes into a creamy custard beneath a top crust. Stirring would blend it in and change the texture.
“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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