Name: Whole Wheat Pudding
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour; 1/16 teaspoon baking soda; 1/16 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon molasses; 1 tablespoon milk; 1 teaspoon beaten egg; ½ teaspoon melted butter; 2 tablespoons raisins

Why it works: Flour and raisin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Whole Wheat Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Prepare

In a bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt.
Stir in the molasses, milk, beaten egg, and melted butter until well combined.
Fold in the raisins.

Bake

Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 20-25 minutes or until set.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,075 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Wheat + milktop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,418 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,373 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Flour and butter 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

Whole wheat flour: Provides the main structure and a nutty, hearty texture as it sets.
Egg: Binds the batter and helps it set into a firm, tender pudding.
Baking soda: Reacts with the molasses's acidity to lift the batter and promote browning.
Molasses: Adds sweetness, moisture, and a deep, caramel-like flavor.
Butter: Adds richness and fat for a tender crumb and smooth flavor.

Swap the raisin

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

Raisinthe original
Vanillafits about as well
Figfits less well
Coconutfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against wheat, flour, molasses, milk, egg, butter. 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.