Sponge Pudding

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.

1. Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together9,075 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

   Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

3. Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together6,180 recipes

   Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).

4. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together3,577 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Flour

Forms the structure that holds the pudding together as it steams.

Eggs

Bind the batter and help set the pudding's structure as it cooks.

Baking soda

Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that lightens the pudding.

Molasses

Adds sweetness, dark color, and moisture with a deep, rich flavor.

Suet

Adds fat and richness, keeping the pudding moist and tender as it steams.

The step that matters

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, molasses, milk, flour, egg, raisin):

1. Vanillafits better
2. Figfits better
3. Coconutfits about as well
4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, molasses, milk, flour, egg, raisin. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.