Why it works: Raisin and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,781 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓
French Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding
In a bowl, combine bread crumbs, sugar, raisins, almonds, citron, milk, eggs, and lemon juice.
Pour the mixture into a greased mold.
Steam
Steam for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
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 + almondtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,781 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Almond + lemontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,655 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Bread + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Bread crumbs
- Provide the bulk and absorb the milk and eggs to form the pudding's body.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and set during steaming to give the pudding structure.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softens the crumbs so the pudding stays tender.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the pudding brown slightly at the surface.
- Raisins
- Add chewy texture and concentrated sweetness throughout the pudding.
The step that matters
Steam for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Steam gently and keep the water from boiling into the mold. Gentle heat lets the eggs set evenly, while vigorous boiling can make the pudding rough or spongy.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, sugar, raisin, almond, milk, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Datesfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, sugar, raisin, almond, milk, egg. 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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