Why it works: Bread and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 22,662 recipes. Both carry (e)-2-octenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Golden Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding mixture
Combine bread crumbs, minced suet, marmalade, and sugar in a basin.
Stir the mixture well.
Beat the eggs until frothy.
Moisten the pudding mixture with the beaten eggs.
Mix everything thoroughly.
Boil and serve
Transfer to a buttered mold or basin.
Tie down with a floured cloth.
Boil for 2 hours.
Turn out the pudding.
Sprinkle with fine sifted sugar.
Serve.
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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Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Bread + sugartop 32% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,638 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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 add moisture and structure as they set during boiling.
- Bread crumbs
- Provide the bulk and absorb moisture so the pudding holds its shape.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and rich as it steams.
- Marmalade
- Adds sweetness and acidity, along with flavour from the citrus peel.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps give the pudding its flavour.
The step that matters
Tie down with a floured cloth. A snug, floured cloth keeps water out while the pudding boils and lets the surface form a skin that helps it hold its shape. A loose or unfloured cloth can let water soak in and make the pudding soggy.
“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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