Name: Small Beef-steak Pudding
Ingredients: one pound of flour; six ounces of beef-suet finely minced; six ounces of butter; a teaspoonful of salt; a pint of cold water; a pound of tender steak; an ounce of salt; a teaspoonful of pepper well mixed together; a pint of water; 1/2 teaspoonful; 1/2 pint; 1/4 pint; four eggs; three whole ones

Why it works: Beef and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,971 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

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.

Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,971 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Beef + buttertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,847 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour: Forms the firm paste that makes the crust hold its shape.
Beef suet: Adds fat to the paste, keeping the crust rich and tender as it cooks.
Butter: Replaces the suet as a fat, enriching the crust and adding flavour.
Steak: Provides the meat filling, which becomes tender during the long boil.
Eggs: Moisten and bind the paste, helping it stay cohesive and golden.

The step that matters

Close the pudding carefully. A poorly sealed pudding lets water into the basin during the long boil, making the filling soggy and the crust heavy. A tight seal and a floured cloth keep the contents protected.

“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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

Small Beef-steak Pudding