Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Fruit Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) or prepare a steamer.
Make the batter
In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the eggs and mix well.
Stir in the jam or preserves and flour.
Dissolve the baking soda in the sour milk or cream and add to the mixture.
Add spices to taste and mix until combined.
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish or mold.
Cook and serve
Steam for about 1 hour or bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
Serve warm with sauce or whipped cream.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and give the pudding its structure as they set during cooking.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a tender texture when creamed with the sugar.
- Sugar
- Creamed with the butter for sweetness and a lighter crumb.
- Jam or preserves
- Supply fruit sweetness, moisture and flavor throughout the pudding.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the pudding together as it cooks.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk or cream to produce gas that lightens the batter.
The step that matters
Dissolving the baking soda in the sour milk or cream. Baking soda needs an acid to react and release gas. Adding it to the acidic sour milk or cream before mixing lets the reaction start in the liquid, so it spreads evenly and helps the pudding rise rather than leaving dense or soapy pockets.
“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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