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 ↓
Suet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine the suet, raisins, molasses, cold water, cream of tartar, and baking soda.
Add enough flour to create a stiff batter.
Transfer the mixture into a pudding bag.
Boil and serve
Boil the pudding in water for three hours.
Serve with sauce.
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.
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.
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Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + molassestop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,408 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Cream + flourtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Absorbs the liquid and builds the firm structure that holds the pudding together.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the pudding rich and tender as it cooks.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and a deep, dark flavour.
- Cream of tartar
- Reacts with the baking soda to produce gas that lightens the pudding.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic cream of tartar to help the pudding rise.
- Raisins
- Add chewy pockets of sweetness throughout the pudding.
The step that matters
Add enough flour to create a stiff batter. Flour soaks up the liquid and sets the structure. If the batter is too wet, the pudding can turn out dense, heavy, or loose rather than holding its shape.
“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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