Why it works: Raisin and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Suet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Combine the chopped suet, raisins, molasses, milk, and baking soda in a mixing bowl.
Gradually stir in the flour until the mixture is as thick as pound cake batter.
Steam
Transfer the mixture to a greased pudding mold.
Steam for three hours, ensuring the water remains boiling constantly.
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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Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + molassestop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,155 recipes
Shared aroma: decanoic acid (acides aroma).
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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 fat that keeps the pudding moist and rich as it steams.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and dark color, and moisture to the batter.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that lightens the pudding.
- Flour
- Provides structure, thickening the batter to a pound cake consistency so it holds its shape.
- Raisins
- Add chewy pockets of fruit sweetness throughout the pudding.
The step that matters
Keep the water boiling constantly while steaming. Steaming relies on steady heat. If the water drops below boiling, the pudding cooks unevenly and can turn heavy and dense, so the pot must be topped up to keep it boiling for the full three hours.
“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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