Why it works: Clove and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Plum Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the chopped beef suet, milk, molasses, flour, raisins, baking soda, salt, ground cloves, and grated nutmeg in a large bowl and mix until well combined.
Transfer the mixture to a pudding mold or heatproof bowl.
Boil for 4 hours in a pot of simmering water.
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.
-
Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Raisin + clovetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,070 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the pudding together as it steams.
- Beef suet
- Adds fat that keeps the pudding rich and moist during long cooking.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color and a deep flavor.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses to lighten the texture and help the pudding rise.
- Raisins
- Provide chewy pockets of concentrated sweetness throughout the pudding.
The step that matters
Boil for 4 hours in simmering water. The pudding must steam gently for the full time so the flour and suet set through and the center cooks evenly. Water that boils too hard or runs low can make the outside cook faster than the inside or let the mold dry out.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, milk, molasses, flour, raisin, nutmeg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Allspicefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, milk, molasses, flour, raisin, 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.
More plum pudding recipes
You might also like
Molasses Cookies96 recipes
Molasses Cake90 recipes
Clove Cake53 recipes
Molasses Sponge Cake9 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.