Why it works: Flour and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,429 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Steamed Indian Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, water, molasses, and baking soda, and mix until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a pan or pail.
Steam and serve
Steam for 2½ hours.
Serve with sauce.
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.
-
Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 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
- Cornmeal
- Forms the thick body of the pudding as it cooks and sets.
- All-purpose flour
- Adds structure and helps hold the pudding together after steaming.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, deep sweetness and a dark color to the pudding.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses's acidity to help the pudding rise and lighten.
The step that matters
Steam for 2½ hours. Steaming gently and steadily cooks the cornmeal fully and sets the pudding evenly. Uneven or insufficient steam leaves the center soft or dense.
“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.
You might also like
Molasses Cookies96 recipes
Molasses Cake90 recipes
Molasses Sponge Cake9 recipes
White Cake431 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.