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 ↓
Raisin Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
Add the egg and mix well.
Stir in the sweet milk.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture.
Fold in the raisins.
Steam and serve
Pour the mixture into a greased pudding mold.
Steam for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Serve with sauce.
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 + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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 main structure of the pudding as its starches set during steaming.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the pudding rise and become light.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure and richness as it sets.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender texture and rich flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps the butter cream into a smooth base.
- Raisins
- Add pockets of sweetness and chewy texture throughout the pudding.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Adding flour in portions and mixing gently keeps the batter smooth and limits gluten development, which would otherwise make the pudding tough. Baking powder begins releasing gas once wet, so the batter should be steamed soon after mixing.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg, milk, flour):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg, milk, 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.
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