Why it works: Raisin and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,781 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓
Soogee 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.
Make the custard
Make a custard by whisking eggs, milk, and sugar together.
Cook soogee in a little milk until thick, then add to the custard.
Stir in raisins, chopped almonds, and vanilla extract.
Bake or steam
Pour the mixture into a pudding dish.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) or steam until set.
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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Raisin + almondtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,781 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
-
Almond + vanillatop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,961 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Raisin + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together782 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Eggs
- Set the custard and give the pudding its structure as they cook.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard and adds moisture and richness.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and adds tenderness to the set pudding.
- Soogee
- Thickens the custard as it cooks in milk, giving a firmer texture.
The step that matters
Cook soogee in milk until thick. Soogee must be fully cooked and thickened before it goes into the custard. Raw starch tastes chalky and will not set the pudding properly, so cook it until visibly thick first.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, milk, sugar, almond, vanilla):
- Figfits better
- Peachfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Raisinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, milk, sugar, almond, vanilla. 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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