Why it works: Mushroom and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,580 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Sussex Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the filling
Cut the steak and kidneys into small pieces.
Layer the steak in a large, shallow bowl.
Dredge with flour and season with salt and pepper.
Continue layering with kidneys, mushrooms, and oysters.
Seal and cook
Moisten the edge of the crust and press down the cover firmly.
Tie the bowl in a cloth wrung out from hot water and floured.
Boil in water for at least 4 hours.
Serve in the dish with a napkin around it.
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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Mushroom + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Mushroom + oystertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,299 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Mushroom + flourtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,253 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Oyster + peppertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,663 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Steak
- Provides the main meaty body and savoury flavour of the filling.
- Kidneys
- Adds a rich, deep, savoury flavour and a firmer, meatier bite to the filling.
- Flour
- Dredging the meat thickens the cooking juices into a richer, more cohesive gravy.
- Mushrooms
- Add moisture and earthy savouriness that deepens the overall flavour of the filling.
- Oysters
- Contribute a briny, savoury flavour that seasons the meat as it cooks.
The step that matters
Tie the bowl in a cloth wrung out from hot water and floured. The cloth must be well wrung out so it does not drip water into the bowl, and floured so it does not stick. A snug, sealed cover keeps steam inside during the long boil, so the meat cooks in its own juices rather than in boiling water.
“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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