Why it works: Currant and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,057 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Royal Coburg Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Mix the flour and cold milk until smooth.
Gradually stir in the remaining ingredients, first creaming the butter and sugar together.
Once well mixed and smooth, fill 4 small pudding molds or bowls.
Bake and serve
Bake for 45 minutes.
Turn the puddings out onto cut paper and serve with wine or brandy 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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Currant + brandytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,057 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the pudding together as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Set during baking to bind the batter and add richness and structure.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender texture and rich flavour.
- Milk
- Supplies moisture and loosens the batter so it blends smoothly.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps create a light, creamed base with the butter.
The step that matters
Creaming the butter and sugar together. Beating butter and sugar traps air in the fat, which helps the batter stay light and rise evenly in the oven.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, flour, sugar, butter, egg, nutmeg, brandy):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, flour, sugar, butter, egg, nutmeg, brandy. 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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