Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Suet 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.
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the flour, suet, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
Gradually add the milk and stir until combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased pudding mold.
Steam and serve
Cover with a lid or foil and steam for 1 hour.
Serve warm with sauce or syrup.
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 + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk 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
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the main structure of the pudding as it sets.
- Shredded suet
- Adds richness and a tender, moist crumb as it melts during steaming.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during steaming, helping the pudding rise and become light.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flour and binds the mixture into a soft batter.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and contributes to browning and flavor.
The step that matters
Steam with the mold covered. A tight cover traps steam around the pudding so it cooks evenly and stays moist. If the cover is loose, steam escapes, the top can dry out, and the crumb becomes dense.
“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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