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Game Pudding

A savory pudding made from boned game, bacon or suet, herbs, and wine, baked with bread crumbs and eggs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 15 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

Game Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Combine the boned game, bacon or suet, parsley, thyme, basil, shallots, garlic, spices, pepper, salt, Port wine, and lemon juice in a pot over medium heat for 10 minutes.

  2. Pound the mixture in a mortar until well combined.

  3. Add the crumbed rolls, cream, and egg yolks; mix thoroughly.

Cook and serve

  1. Transfer the mixture into a pudding mold or cloth and boil for 2.5 hours.

  2. Serve with a sauce made from the bones of the game.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Thyme + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,768 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

  3. Parsley + shallottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,737 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  4. Thyme + shallottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,476 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  5. Parsley + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,351 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Hare or other game
Forms the main body of the pudding and gives it its meaty flavor.
Bacon or beef suet
Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and rich as it cooks.
French rolls
Absorb liquid and bind the mixture, giving it a softer, more set texture.
Egg yolks
Bind the mixture and help it set firm when cooked.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness, keeping the pudding tender.

The step that matters

Boiling the pudding. The pudding must be sealed tightly in its mold or cloth and kept at a steady boil for the full time. Water entering or a drop in heat makes the texture watery or uneven, while the egg yolks set the mixture as it cooks.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, parsley, thyme, basil, shallot, garlic, pepper):

  1. Marjoramfits better
  2. Winter savoryfits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, parsley, thyme, basil, shallot, garlic, pepper. 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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