Name: English Plum Pudding
Ingredients: 1 cup of flour; 6 ounces of candied orange peel; 1/4 pint of brandy; 1 1/2 lbs; 1 3/4 lbs; 2 lbs; 3 lbs; 1/2 powdered bitter almond

Why it works: Flour and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,673 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

English Plum Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Stone and cut the raisins, do not chop them; cut the candied peel in thin slices.
Mix all the dry ingredients first.

Make and boil

Beat the yolks of the eggs, strain into the pudding.
Beat the whites until stiff and put in last.
Boil 6 or 8 hours.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

524Calories

14 gProtein

2 gFat

110 gCarbs

Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 3 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Almond	1 almond (1.2g)	7
Brandy	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Jacqueline Harrison Smith (ed.). Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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.

Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,673 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Orange + almondtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,125 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Orange + brandytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,706 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Brandy + almondtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,969 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
Flour + orangetop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,821 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

Flour: Provides the main structure that holds the pudding together.
Eggs (in the method): Yolks add richness, and beaten whites lighten the mixture.
Candied orange peel: Adds concentrated citrus flavour and a chewy texture.
Brandy: Adds aroma and warm flavour to the pudding.

The step that matters

Adding the stiffly beaten whites. Whites beaten until stiff trap air that helps lift the pudding. Adding them last and mixing gently keeps that air from collapsing, so the pudding stays light rather than dense.

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, brandy, almond):

Raisinfits better
Vanillafits better
Figfits better
Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, brandy, almond. 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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English Plum Pudding