Why it works: Flour and raisin 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 ↓
Pork Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the batter
Simmer the pork and hot water for a little while.
Add the baking soda, sugar, molasses, spices, flour, and raisins.
Mix until combined and stiff enough to hold the raisins.
Bake
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for one hour.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Pork + coffeetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together220 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fat pork
- Adds richness and moisture, and melts into the cake to keep it tender.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses to produce gas, helping the cake rise and lighten.
- Molasses
- Adds dark color, moisture, and a deep sweet flavor, and helps the cake brown.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and contributes to browning and a soft crumb.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the batter stiff enough to suspend the raisins.
- Raisins
- Add pockets of chewy sweetness throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Mix until combined and stiff enough to hold the raisins. Flour must be added in an amount that gives a thick batter; too little leaves the raisins sinking, while overmixing can toughen the crumb. Mixing only until combined keeps the texture tender.
“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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