Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Eve's Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the ingredients
Pare, core, and quarter six large pippins, chopping them very finely.
Grate stale bread until you have six ounces of crumbs, then roll in six ounces of brown sugar.
Pick, wash, and dry six ounces of currants, then sprinkle them with flour.
Mix the pudding
Mix all these ingredients together in a large pan, adding six ounces of butter cut small and two tablespoonfuls of flour.
Beat six eggs very lightly, then moisten the mixture with them.
Add grated nutmeg and a teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon. Stir the whole very well together.
Boil and serve
Prepare a pot of boiling water.
Dip the pudding cloth into the boiling water, shake it out, and dredge it with flour.
Place the mixture into the cloth, tie it very firmly, leaving space for the pudding to swell, and stop the tying place with a paste of wet flour.
Boil the pudding for three hours, keeping a kettle of boiling water at the fire to replenish the pot so the pudding remains well covered.
Serve the pudding hot, accompanied by sweetened cream flavored with wine and nutmeg.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp ground (2.6g) | 6 |
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.
-
Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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 mixture and add structure and richness as the pudding sets.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving the pudding a tender texture.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and a molasses flavor that deepens the pudding.
- Stale bread crumbs
- Provide the body of the pudding and absorb moisture from the eggs and butter.
- Flour
- Helps thicken the mixture and gives it structure as it cooks.
- Pippins
- Add moisture, tartness and fruity flavor to the pudding.
The step that matters
Tying the cloth. The cloth must be tied firmly so the pudding holds its shape, but with room to swell. Floured cloth keeps it from sticking, and a sealed tie stops water entering while it boils.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, flour, egg, nutmeg, cinnamon):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, flour, egg, nutmeg, cinnamon. 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.
More apple pudding recipes
You might also like
Cinnamon Rolls71 recipes
Red Currant Jelly65 recipes
Cinnamon Cake42 recipes
Currant Ice Cream32 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.