Why it works: Nutmeg and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Suet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a large bowl, combine suet, molasses, sour milk, chopped raisins, flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and cloves, and mix until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased pudding mold.
Steam
Cover the mold with a lid or foil.
Steam for 3 hours.
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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Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + clovetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,070 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and rich as it steams.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color and a deep flavor to the pudding.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity reacts with the baking soda so the pudding rises and becomes tender.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the pudding together as it sets.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk and molasses to produce gas that lightens the pudding.
The step that matters
Steam for 3 hours. Steaming gives gentle, even moist heat that cooks the batter through without drying it out. The mold must be sealed so steam cannot escape, and the water must keep simmering for the full time.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, milk, raisin, flour, nutmeg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Allspicefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, milk, raisin, flour, nutmeg. 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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