Why it works: Fig and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 519 recipes. Both carry alpha-pinene, which smells pine, turpentine. The science ↓
Fig-pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Dredge the chopped suet with flour.
In a large bowl, mix the figs, suet, bread crumbs, sugar, eggs, and milk until well combined.
Transfer the mixture to a pudding mold.
Cook and serve
Boil for 4 hours.
Garnish with blanched almonds 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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Fig + almondtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together519 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Flour + almondtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Fig + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,026 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Bread + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Fig + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together374 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Figs
- Provide the main sweetness, flavour and moist body of the pudding.
- Suet
- Adds fat that enriches the pudding and keeps it moist and tender as it cooks.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb liquid and give the pudding its soft, structured body.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and help it set as it cooks.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softens the crumbs into a cohesive batter.
The step that matters
Boil for 4 hours. A steady, gentle boil over the full time cooks the eggs and crumbs through and sets the pudding. Too little heat or time leaves it wet and loose in the centre, while the mold must stay sealed and topped up with water so it does not dry out or let water in.
“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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