Why it works: Sugar and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Cherry Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Soak the pounded crackers in hot water until soft.
Mix and bake
Add butter, eggs, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and cherries to the softened crackers.
Mix well and pour into a baking dish.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) until set.
Serve
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Butter + cinnamontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,784 recipes
Shared aroma: anethole (sweet, anise).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, 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 help it set firm when baked.
- Pounded crackers
- Form the bulk of the pudding and absorb moisture to soften into a base.
- Cherries
- Provide the main fruit flavor and moisture throughout the pudding.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and contributes to browning on the surface.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat for a softer, more tender texture.
The step that matters
Bake until set. Eggs set as they heat, so the pudding should be baked until firm in the centre. Underbaking leaves it loose and wet, while overbaking can make it dry and tough.
Swap the cinnamon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, sugar):
- Cinnamonthe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Capersfits less well
- Parsleyfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, sugar. 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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