Name: A Baked Plum Pudding En Moule, or Moulded
Ingredients: four ounces of pounded sugar; two ounces of candied citron; six ounces of the crumb of a stale loaf; four ounces of good lisbon sugar; two ounces of a fresh finely-grated cocoa-nut; a pound of carefully stoned raisins; a pound of flour; a small cup of milk; a quart of cold new milk four ounces of good lisbon sugar; an ounce of butter just dissolved; four large well whisked eggs; five large; 1 quart; 1 large lemon; salt; nutmeg; ginger

Why it works: Raisin and flour 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 ↓

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.

Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,075 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Cocoa + milktop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together643 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,481 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

Eggs: Bind the batter and set it into a firm, sliceable pudding as they cook.
Flour: Provides the structure that holds the pudding together after baking.
Stale loaf crumb: Absorbs the milk and eggs, giving a light, tender body to the pudding.
Milk: Adds moisture and softens the batter so it cooks evenly.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown in the oven.
Raisins: Add concentrated sweetness and chewy moisture throughout the pudding.

The step that matters

Bake it in a moderate oven from an hour and a half to two hours. A moderate oven lets the dense egg and crumb batter set through to the centre before the outside over-browns. A hotter oven can scorch the exterior while the middle stays wet.

Swap the cocoa

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, raisin, flour, milk, butter, egg, lemon):

Almondfits better
Pistachiofits better
Chestnutfits better
Cocoathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, raisin, flour, milk, butter, egg, lemon. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

A Baked Plum Pudding En Moule, or Moulded