Why it works: Raisin and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Steamed Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a large bowl, mix molasses, baking soda, butter, salt, sour milk, and spices.
Stir in the chopped raisins and flour until well combined.
Steam and serve
Pour the mixture into a greased pudding mold.
Cover the mold and steam for 2 hours.
Check for doneness before serving.
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.
-
Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cinnamon + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
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 characteristic color and flavor.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk and molasses to produce gas that lightens the pudding.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds tenderness to the crumb.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender texture.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the pudding together as it sets.
The step that matters
Check for doneness before serving. A steamed pudding is dense and moist, so it can look set on the outside while the centre is still raw. Testing the centre with a skewer or toothpick confirms the batter has fully set before it is unmolded.
“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 steamed 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.