Name: Christmas Pudding
Ingredients: 12 crackers; 1 quart milk; 1 pint sugar; 1½ cups chopped suet; 1 cup molasses; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 nutmeg, grated; 2 teaspoons cinnamon; 2 teaspoons cloves; 2 teaspoons allspice; 2 teaspoons mace; 2 cups raisins; 2 cups currants; ¼ pound citron

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).
Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,874 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,536 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,331 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

What each ingredient does

Crackers: Soaked in milk, they soften and bind the mixture, giving the pudding its body.
Suet: Melts during steaming, adding richness and a moist, tender crumb.
Molasses: Adds dark color, sweetness and a deep, slightly bitter flavor.
Raisins: Add chewy sweetness and moisture to the finished pudding.
Currants: Add small bursts of tart fruitiness and moisture throughout.

The step that matters

Steam the mixture for 5 hours. Steaming must be gentle and steady so the pudding cooks through and stays moist. Letting the water boil dry or drop too low can leave it dense or uneven.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, molasses, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, allspice):

Cardamomfits better
Gingerfits better
Fennelfits better
Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, molasses, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, allspice. 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 Pudding