Why it works: Molasses and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,429 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Whortleberry Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the batter
Combine the whortleberries, molasses, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.
Add flour gradually until the batter is thick enough for a spoon to stand up in it.
Cook and serve
Pour the mixture into a pot and boil for three hours.
Serve warm with butter and 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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Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Provides structure, as its starches and proteins set and firm up while the pudding cooks.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and a deep color and flavor to the pudding.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to release gas, helping the pudding rise and lighten.
- Whortleberries
- Add fruit flavor and moisture to the batter.
The step that matters
Adding the flour. Flour should be added gradually until the batter is thick enough to hold a spoon upright. Too little flour leaves a loose batter that cooks heavy and wet, because the starches and proteins that set the pudding need enough flour to firm up.
“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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