Why it works: Cinnamon and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,536 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Suet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine molasses, sour milk, suet, and raisins.
Add baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice; mix well.
Gradually add flour until the batter is stiff.
Steam and serve
Pour the mixture into a greased pudding mold.
Steam for 3 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.
-
Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,536 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Molasses
- Adds dark sweetness and moisture, and gives the pudding its rich color and flavor.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity reacts with the baking soda so the pudding rises and stays tender.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and gives it a rich, tender texture.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk and molasses to produce gas that lightens the batter.
- Flour
- Provides structure so the batter sets firm enough to hold its shape when steamed.
The step that matters
Gradually add flour until the batter is stiff. Adding flour gradually lets you judge the consistency. Too much flour makes the pudding dense and dry, while too little leaves it too loose to hold its shape during steaming.
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, milk, raisin, cinnamon, flour):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, milk, raisin, cinnamon, flour. 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.
More suet pudding recipes
You might also like
Molasses Cookies96 recipes
Molasses Cake90 recipes
Cinnamon Rolls71 recipes
Cinnamon Cake42 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.