Why it works: Raisin and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Raisin Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Butter and flour a mold or bag well.
Make and cook
In a large bowl, mix the raisins, sugar, butter, flour, beaten eggs, milk or cream, and wine or brandy.
Pour the mixture into the prepared mold.
Boil for 3 to 4 hours.
Serve
Serve with a rich 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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Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + winetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Raisins
- Add sweetness, chewy texture and bulk to the pudding.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and set it into a firm, custard-like structure.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving a tender, flavorful crumb.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the pudding together.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps keep the crumb moist.
- Milk or cream
- Adds moisture and richness to the batter.
The step that matters
Boil for 3 to 4 hours. Long, gentle boiling lets heat reach the centre slowly so the eggs and flour set evenly. Cooking too briefly leaves the middle wet and dense, so the full time matters.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, flour, egg, milk, wine):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits about as well
- Peachfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, flour, egg, milk, wine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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