Why it works: Flour and raisin 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 ↓
Cottage Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Mix the flour, suet, raisins, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt in a bowl.
Dissolve the baking soda in the milk, then add it to the well-beaten egg and mix well.
Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until the batter is stiff but well moistened.
Bake and serve
Turn the mixture into a greased Yorkshire pudding tin.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 30 to 40 minutes.
Cut the pudding into squares and serve.
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.
-
Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Raisin + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,155 recipes
Shared aroma: decanoic acid (acides aroma).
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
- Provides the main structure that holds the pudding together as it bakes.
- Suet
- Adds fat that enriches the texture and keeps the pudding moist.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and helps give the pudding its set structure.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidic salt that reacts with baking soda to help the pudding rise.
- Baking soda
- Releases carbon dioxide with the acid, leavening the batter as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the pudding brown during baking.
The step that matters
Stirring the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir only until the batter is stiff but well moistened. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour, making the pudding tough and dense, while the leavening reaction begins as soon as the wet and dry ingredients meet.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, egg, milk, cream):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits less well
- Strawberryfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, egg, milk, cream. 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.
More yorkshire pudding recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Chicken Broth257 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.