Brown Bread Pudding

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.

1. Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together11,917 recipes

   Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

2. Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together30,779 recipes

   Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

3. Bread + beeftop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,032 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

4. Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together22,662 recipes

   Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

5. Bread + nutmegtop 14% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together5,997 recipes

   Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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

Dried bread crumbs

Form the body of the pudding and absorb the fat and liquid as it cooks.

Beef suet

Adds richness and a tender, moist texture as it melts through the crumbs.

Currants

Add chewy pockets of fruit sweetness throughout the pudding.

Egg yolks

Enrich the mixture and help bind it into a set, cohesive pudding.

Egg whites

Add lightness and help the pudding hold structure as it cooks.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, beef, sugar, egg, nutmeg, cinnamon):

1. Raisinfits better
2. Vanillafits better
3. Figfits better
4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, beef, sugar, egg, nutmeg, cinnamon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.