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 ↓
Woodford Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, butter, flour, jam, baking soda dissolved in sour milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a pudding pan.
Bake and serve
Bake slowly until set.
Serve with 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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set the pudding into a firm, sliceable structure as they cook.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a tender texture to the batter.
- Flour
- Provides structure that holds the pudding together as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the pudding brown lightly at the edges.
- Jam or preserves
- Supplies fruit sweetness, moisture and flavour throughout the pudding.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to produce gas that lightens the batter.
The step that matters
Bake slowly until set. A low oven temperature cooks the eggs gently so the pudding sets evenly without curdling or drying out. Baking too hot can make the outside tough while the centre stays liquid.
“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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