Why it works: Flour and raisin 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 ↓
Nut Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
In a bowl, beat the egg until light.
Add the sugar and beat until combined.
Stir in the salt and milk.
Gradually add the flour and baking powder, mixing until smooth.
Fold in the nut meats and raisins if desired.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased pan and let it rise for 20 minutes.
Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + raisintop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,155 recipes
Shared aroma: decanoic acid (acides aroma).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the loaf together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the bread rise and become light.
- Egg
- Adds structure and richness, helping bind the batter as it sets.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softness, helping hydrate the flour.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crumb brown lightly in the oven.
- Nut meats
- Add texture and a toasty, rich flavor to the crumb.
The step that matters
Gradually add the flour and baking powder, mixing until smooth. Mixing too vigorously after adding flour develops gluten, which can make the bread tough and dense. Stop once the batter is smooth so the crumb stays tender.
Swap the raisin
The recipe marks raisin as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, milk, flour, meat):
- Raisinthe original
- Vanillafits about as well
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, milk, flour, meat. 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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