Name: Christmas Plum Pudding
Ingredients: 1 lb suet; 1 lb currants; 1 lb raisins; 8 eggs; ½ nutmeg (grated); 2 oz candied peel; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; ½ tsp ground cloves; ½ lb soft bread crumbs; 2 cups flour; 1 cup milk

Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon 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 ↓

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.

Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,917 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,686 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,075 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,390 recipes

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

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Bind the mixture and help set it into a firm, sliceable pudding.
Flour: Gives the pudding its body and structure as it cooks.
Suet: Melts as the pudding cooks, keeping it moist and rich.
Soft bread crumbs: Soak up liquid and help keep the pudding light and tender.
Milk: Adds moisture and helps the dry ingredients combine into a batter.
Raisins: Add chewy sweetness and fruitiness throughout the pudding.

The step that matters

Boil for 5 to 6 hours or longer. The long, steady boil cooks the pudding through and makes it set. If the water boils dry or the pot is left to boil too hard, the pudding can scorch or cook unevenly, so the water level needs to be kept up for the whole time.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, egg, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, bread, flour):

Figfits better
Vanillafits better
Quincefits better
Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, egg, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, bread, flour. 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.

Christmas Plum Pudding