Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg 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 ↓
Woodford Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, butter, flour, jam, baking soda dissolved in sour milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a pudding pan.
Bake and serve
Bake slowly until set.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Provide structure as they set during baking, holding the pudding together.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, contributing to a tender, moist crumb.
- Flour
- Forms the body of the pudding as its starches set with the eggs.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps browning during baking.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidity of the sour milk to produce gas that lightens the pudding.
- Jam or preserves
- Supplies fruit sweetness, flavour and moisture throughout the pudding.
The step that matters
Bake slowly until set. Gentle heat lets the egg proteins set evenly without curdling or drying out. Baking too hot can make the outside overcook before the centre firms.
“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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