Why it works: Wheat and fig share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 70 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Fig Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
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 the batter
In a large bowl, combine the chopped suet, flour, crumbled bread, and chopped figs.
In a separate bowl, mix the molasses, baking soda, and cream of tartar until well combined.
Pour the molasses mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until fully incorporated.
Steam and serve
Transfer the mixture into a greased pudding mold.
Steam the pudding for about 2 hours or until set.
Serve warm with your choice 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.
-
Wheat + figtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together70 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Wheat + breadtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together209 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
-
Bread + figtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together374 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + figtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,192 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Suet
- Adds richness and a moist, tender crumb as it melts during steaming.
- Wheat flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the pudding together.
- Wheat bread
- Soaks up liquid and keeps the pudding moist and light.
- Figs
- Add sweetness, chewy texture and fruity flavour.
- Molasses
- Sweetens and darkens the pudding while adding depth of flavour and moisture.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in molasses to produce gas that helps the pudding rise.
The step that matters
Steam the pudding for about 2 hours or until set. Steaming gently cooks the batter through with steady moist heat, setting the structure without drying it. Letting the water boil dry or the steam drop too low can leave the pudding dense or undercooked in the centre.
Swap the fig
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (wheat, flour, bread, molasses, cream):
- Raisinfits better
- Figthe original
- Vanillafits about as well
- Datesfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against wheat, flour, bread, molasses, cream. 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 fig pudding recipes
You might also like
Bread Pudding153 recipes
Molasses Cookies96 recipes
Molasses Cake90 recipes
Soft Ginger Bread85 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.