Why it works: Raisin and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Suet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Warm and stir together the molasses and suet.
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Beat the eggs until light, then add to the warmed mixture.
Season with mace and cinnamon, then mix in the flour.
Finally, fold in the raisins.
Steam and serve
Pour the mixture into a buttered mold and steam for nearly three hours.
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.
-
Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Mace + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
-
Molasses + cinnamontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,928 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as they set during steaming.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the pudding rise and turn light.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and rich as it cooks.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, and moisture to the batter.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the main structure that holds the pudding together once set.
The step that matters
Steaming the pudding. The pudding needs a long, steady steam to cook through evenly. Letting the water boil dry or the mold sit uncovered can leave the center under-set and the surface dry. Keep the pot topped up with water and the mold well covered.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, raisin, flour, egg, cinnamon):
- Nutmegfits better
- Allspicefits better
- Clovefits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, raisin, flour, egg, 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.
More suet pudding recipes
You might also like
Molasses Cookies96 recipes
Molasses Cake90 recipes
Cinnamon Rolls71 recipes
Cinnamon Cake42 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.