Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Sour Milk Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the pudding
In a large bowl, mix the sour milk, brown sugar, butter, eggs, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves until well combined.
Stir in the raisins or currants.
Add enough dried bread crumbs to thicken the mixture.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake for about 30-40 minutes.
Serve
Serve warm with or without cream or any kind of 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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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Cinnamon + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Clove + raisintop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,070 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sour milk
- Its acidity reacts with baking soda to produce lift and gives the pudding a tangy edge.
- Eggs
- Set during baking to give the pudding structure and a custardy body.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the sour milk's acid to release gas, helping the pudding rise and lighten.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender, moist crumb.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and molasses flavour, and helps keep the crumb moist.
- Dried bread crumbs
- Absorb liquid so the mixture thickens before baking.
The step that matters
Adding the bread crumbs. Bread crumbs absorb liquid, so adding too few leaves the mixture loose and wet, while too many makes it dense and dry. Add enough to thicken the batter to a spoonable consistency before baking.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, butter, egg, cinnamon, raisin, bread):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Allspicefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, butter, egg, cinnamon, raisin, bread. 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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