Lemon Pudding

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.

1. Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together22,662 recipes

   Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

2. Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together53,532 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

3. Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together44,316 recipes

   Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

4. Bread + lemontop 20% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together8,445 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

5. Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together122,807 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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

Bread crumbs

Provide the bulk and body that hold the pudding together as it steams.

Suet

Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and rich during long steaming.

Egg

Binds the mixture so it sets into a cohesive pudding rather than crumbling.

Brown sugar

Adds sweetness and a molasses-like depth of flavour.

Lemon

Its peel and juice add aroma and acidity that brighten the rich, heavy pudding.

The step that matters

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, sugar, egg):

1. Vanillafits better
2. Datesfits better
3. Figfits better
4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, sugar, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.