Name: Blackberry Pudding
Ingredients: 2 lbs beef; 1 beef tongue; 2 lbs suet; 4 lbs raisins; 4 lbs apples; 2 lbs currants; 1 lb citron; 2 lbs sugar; 2 lbs oranges; 2 lbs lemons; 2 nutmegs; ¾ oz cinnamon; ¼ oz cloves; 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt; wine vinegar; boiled cider; fruit juices; molasses to taste

Why it works: Orange and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. 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.

Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,634 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,318 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,377 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
Apple + orangetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,230 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Orange + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,746 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, raisin, apple, sugar, orange, lemon, nutmeg):

Figfits better
Cranberryfits better
Vanillafits better
Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, raisin, apple, sugar, orange, lemon, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Blackberry Pudding