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 ↓
Suet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding
In a large bowl, combine molasses, suet, raisins, flour, milk, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon, then mix until well combined.
Place the mixture in a cloth and tie securely.
Boil in water for three hours.
Make the sauce
For the sauce, beat the whites of two eggs until foamy.
Add four tablespoons of sugar and flavor with brandy or wine.
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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Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color and moisture to the pudding.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the pudding rich and tender as it cooks.
- Raisins
- Add pockets of sweetness and a chewy texture.
- Flour
- Provides the starch and structure that hold the pudding together.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that lightens the pudding.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and helps the flour hydrate into a batter-like mixture.
The step that matters
Tie the cloth securely before boiling. If the cloth is loose or the seal fails, water enters the pudding and makes it soggy. The pudding must stay fully submerged so it cooks evenly over the three hours.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, raisin, flour, milk, nutmeg, cinnamon):
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Allspicefits about as well
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, raisin, flour, milk, nutmeg, cinnamon. 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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