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Dessert

Fig Puddixg

A steamed pudding made with figs, nuts, breadcrumbs, molasses, sugar, milk, spices, and lemon.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Fig and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,026 recipes. Both carry methyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Fig Puddixg

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the batter

  1. In a large bowl, combine chopped nuts, bread crumbs, and figs.

  2. Add molasses, sugar, sweet milk, salt, baking soda, mace, ginger, lemon rind, and lemon juice. Mix well.

  3. Add flour gradually until you achieve a stiff batter.

Steam

  1. Grease a pudding mold with lard.

  2. Pour the batter into the mold and steam for 30 minutes.

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.

  1. Fig + milktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,026 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Bread + milktop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  3. Fig + gingertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together208 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  4. Bread + figtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together374 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Layer figs
Provide the main fruit body and natural sweetness that fills the pudding.
Bread crumbs
Absorb liquid and give the pudding a soft, tender body.
Flour
Thickens the mixture into a stiff batter that holds its shape while steaming.
Molasses
Adds moisture, deep sweetness, and a dark, rich flavor.
Baking soda
Reacts with the molasses's acidity to lighten the batter and help it rise.
Chopped nuts
Add crunch and richness that contrast with the soft crumb.

The step that matters

Add the flour gradually. Adding flour slowly lets you judge the batter's stiffness. Too much flour makes the pudding dense and dry, while too little leaves it loose and unable to hold its shape during steaming.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (nuts, bread, fig, molasses, sugar, milk, ginger):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Cardamomfits better
  3. Clovefits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against nuts, bread, fig, molasses, sugar, milk, ginger. 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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