Name: English Fig Pudding
Ingredients: ½ pound figs, cut into small pieces; ½ pound suet, chopped; ½ pound brown sugar; ½ pound all-purpose flour; 4 eggs, beaten very light; 2 tablespoons molasses; Zest of 1 orange or lemon (orange preferred)

Why it works: Fig and orange match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 407 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

English Fig Pudding

Ingredients

½ pound figs, cut into small pieces
½ pound suet, chopped
½ pound brown sugar
½ pound all-purpose flour
4 eggs, beaten very light
2 tablespoons molasses
Zest of 1 orange or lemon (orange preferred)

Directions

Make the batter

In a large bowl, combine the figs, suet, brown sugar, and flour.
Add the beaten eggs and molasses, mixing until well combined.
Stir in the orange or lemon zest for flavor.

Cook and serve

Divide the mixture into two pudding molds.
Boil the puddings in a pot of water for 3 to 4 hours.
Serve hot with sauce.

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.

Fig + orangetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together407 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,225 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Fig + flourtop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,192 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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

Eggs: Bind the mixture and add structure as the pudding sets.
Suet: Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and rich.
All-purpose flour: Provides the starch structure that holds the pudding together.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and a deep molasses-like flavor.
Figs: Supply fruity sweetness and chewy texture throughout the pudding.
Molasses: Adds moisture, dark color, and a rich, slightly bitter sweetness.

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fig, sugar, flour, egg, molasses):

Raisinfits better
Vanillafits better
Datesfits better
Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fig, sugar, flour, egg, molasses. 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.

Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes

Orange Cream Rice Pudding121 recipes

Orange Gelatin100 recipes

Molasses Cookies96 recipes

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English Fig Pudding