Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Blackberry Pudding or Other Berries
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the batter
Mix a little sifted flour with the fresh berries.
In the remaining flour, add salt to taste and baking soda dissolved in sweet milk.
Fill a cup three-fourths full with syrup or molasses and stir into a smooth batter.
Gently fold in the berries without breaking them.
Steam and serve
Pour the mixture into a buttered mold and place it in boiling water, ensuring the water does not reach the top of the mold.
Keep the water boiling for at least two 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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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + syruptop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,540 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + syruptop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,143 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Provides the structure that holds the pudding together as it steams.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the milk and syrup to release gas, lightening the pudding.
- Syrup or molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture and a dark color to the batter.
- Fresh berries
- Add fruit flavor, tartness and moisture to the pudding.
- Sweet milk
- Dissolves the baking soda and moistens the batter.
The step that matters
Keep the steaming water boiling. The pudding cooks gently by steam from the surrounding water. If the water stops boiling, the batter cooks unevenly and may turn heavy and underdone, so the pot needs steady heat and a water level that stays below the mold's top.
“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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