Why it works: Flour and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,623 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Suet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a large bowl, combine suet, molasses, sweet milk, and egg.
In another bowl, mix flour, grated nutmeg, salt, and baking soda.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until well combined.
Steam and serve
Pour the batter into a greased pudding mold.
Steam for 3 hours until cooked through.
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.
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
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.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the pudding together as it sets.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, and a deep, rich flavor.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and helps it set into a firm, cohesive pudding.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses's acidity to help the pudding rise and lighten.
The step that matters
Stirring in the dry ingredients. Mixing the flour in gradually and stirring only until combined keeps the batter from becoming overworked. Overmixing develops gluten, which can make the pudding dense and tough.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, milk, egg, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Jalapenofits less well
- Allspicefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, milk, egg, 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.
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