Why it works: Clove and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Suet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Mix the suet or butter, molasses, raisins, currants, egg, sweet milk, saleratus, cloves, and nutmeg until well combined.
Add enough flour to make a stiff batter.
Steam and serve
Pour the mixture into a greased pudding bag or mold.
Steam for three 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.
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Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Raisin + clovetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,070 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,180 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Suet or butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving the pudding a tender, moist crumb.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color and a deep, mellow flavor.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and helps give the pudding structure as it cooks.
- Saleratus
- Reacts with the molasses to help the pudding rise and lighten.
- Raisins
- Add chewy texture and concentrated sweetness throughout the pudding.
The step that matters
Add enough flour to make a stiff batter. Flour sets the structure of the pudding. Too little leaves it loose and collapsing, while the right stiffness holds its shape through steaming.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, molasses, raisin, egg, milk, clove, nutmeg):
- Figfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, molasses, raisin, egg, milk, clove, nutmeg. 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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