Name: Fig Pudding
Ingredients: 1 lb wheatmeal; 6 oz broad figs, chopped; 1 teaspoon baking powder; a little sugar; 3 oz butter or margarine, melted; 1 pint milk or water; 2 eggs

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 ↓

Fig Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Chop the figs into pieces.
In a bowl, mix the chopped figs with wheatmeal, sugar, and baking powder.
Add the melted butter (or hot margarine) and stir well.
Pour in the milk or water and mix until combined.
If desired, add the eggs for a richer pudding.

Cook

Pour the mixture into a pudding dish and steam or bake until set.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Fig + milktop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,026 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Fig + buttertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,042 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Fig + sugartop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,241 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Wheatmeal: Provides the bulk and structure of the pudding as it sets.
Baking powder: Releases gas during cooking so the pudding rises and becomes lighter.
Butter or margarine: Adds fat for a tender, moist crumb and rich flavour.
Milk or water: Hydrates the flour and gives the batter its moisture.
Eggs: Add richness and help the pudding set firm when cooked.