Why it works: Buttermilk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Molasses Pudding
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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the batter
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, beat the egg and mix in the sugar until well combined.
Add the molasses and buttermilk, stirring until smooth.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking soda.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined.
Melt the lard and butter together, fold into the batter, and season with ginger to taste.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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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Buttermilk + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + buttermilktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together526 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Flour
- Provides the main structure as its starch sets during baking.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and helps set the pudding's structure as it bakes.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and deep flavor and color.
- Buttermilk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds tenderness.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in buttermilk and molasses to produce gas that lifts the batter.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, and keeps the crumb tender.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined.. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour, which makes the pudding tough and dense. Baking soda starts reacting as soon as it meets the acidic liquid, so the batter should go into the oven promptly.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, molasses, buttermilk, flour, butter):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, molasses, buttermilk, flour, butter. 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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