Why it works: Pepper and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,971 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
A Steak Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the paste
In a bowl, mix the flour and shredded suet.
Add cold water gradually until the mixture is stiff and season with salt.
Roll the paste out to a thickness of ½ inch.
Assemble and cook
Lay the seasoned steaks on the paste and roll them up tightly.
Tie the pudding in a cloth securely.
Place the pudding in boiling water and cook for 3 hours for a small pudding or 5 hours for a large one.
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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Pepper + beeftop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + beeftop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,677 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and beef barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,677 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
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the structure of the paste that wraps the filling.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the paste rich and tender as it cooks.
- Beef or mutton steaks
- Provide the main filling that cooks slowly inside the pudding.
The step that matters
Rolling the steaks up tightly and tying the cloth securely. Loose wrapping lets water seep into the filling and lets the paste open or fall apart during the long boil. A snug roll and firm tie keep the filling moist and the pudding intact.
“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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