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. Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together5,390 recipes

   Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

2. Cinnamon + macetop 10% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together3,611 recipes

   Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

3. Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together12,655 recipes

   Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

4. Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together30,779 recipes

   Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

5. Bread + milktop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together11,466 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

Cinnamon and sugar 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

Bread crumbs

Absorb the milk and give the pudding its soft, spoonable body.

Eggs

Set when baked, binding the custard and giving the pudding structure.

Boiled milk

Provides moisture and softens the bread crumbs for an even texture.

Butter

Adds fat for richness and a tender, smooth crumb.

Raisins

Add pockets of sweetness and a chewy contrast to the soft custard.

Sugar

Sweetens the pudding and helps balance the richness of the butter and eggs.

The step that matters

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, raisin, milk, egg, cinnamon, sugar, wine):

1. Nutmegfits better
2. Clovefits better
3. Cardamomfits better
4. Macethe original

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