Name: Suet Pudding
Ingredients: 2½ cups flour; ¼ teaspoon ginger; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 cup suet, chopped; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 cup raisins, chopped; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1 cup currants; ½ teaspoon nutmeg; 1 cup milk; ½ teaspoon cloves; 1 cup molasses

Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,917 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,686 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,380 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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 steams.
Suet: Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and tender during long cooking.
Baking soda: Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that lightens the pudding.
Molasses: Adds sweetness, dark color, and moisture with a rich, slightly acidic flavor.
Milk: Hydrates the flour and helps form a batter that holds its shape.
Raisins: Add sweetness and chewy pockets of fruit throughout the pudding.

The step that matters

Cover the mold and steam for 3 hours. The lid traps steam so heat reaches the pudding evenly and cooks it through. If steam escapes or the water boils low, the pudding can cook unevenly or turn heavy and gummy.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, ginger, raisin, cinnamon, nutmeg, milk, clove):

Figfits better
Vanillafits better
Orangefits better
Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, ginger, raisin, cinnamon, nutmeg, milk, clove. 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.

Suet Pudding

Suet Pudding

Ingredients

Directions