Why it works: Raisin and flour 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 ↓
Suet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
In a large bowl, combine molasses, suet, water, raisins, currants, flour, and baking soda, then mix until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased pudding mold.
Boil and serve
Boil for three hours.
Serve with hot sauce or whipped butter and sugar.
For a special touch, pour brandy over the pudding and light it before serving.
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.
-
Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,180 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
-
Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Molasses + curranttop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,817 recipes
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the main structure that holds the pudding together as it cooks.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses to lighten the batter and help it rise.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and rich as it cooks.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, depth of flavour, and a dark colour to the pudding.
- Raisins
- Add sweetness and chewy moisture throughout the pudding.
The step that matters
Boil for three hours. The long, steady boil gently cooks the batter from the outside in and sets its structure. If the heat drops or the water runs low, the pudding can turn out dense, wet, or unevenly cooked.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, raisin, flour):
- Figfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Datesfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, raisin, flour. 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.
More suet pudding recipes
You might also like
Molasses Cookies96 recipes
Molasses Cake90 recipes
Red Currant Jelly65 recipes
Currant Ice Cream32 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.