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 ↓
Steam Bread Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs, milk, molasses, egg, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and raisins.
Beat the mixture well until combined.
Steam and serve
Pour the mixture into a double pudding steamer and steam for 1 hour.
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).
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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Cinnamon + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Nutmeg + raisintop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Bread crumbs
- Form the body of the pudding and soak up the liquid as it steams.
- Egg
- Binds the mixture so it sets into a cohesive, sliceable pudding.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color and a deep, rich flavor.
- Milk
- Moistens the crumbs so they soften and hold together.
- Raisins
- Add chewy texture and pockets of sweetness throughout the pudding.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, milk, molasses, egg, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Figfits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Applefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, milk, molasses, egg, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg. 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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