Why it works: Pork and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,214 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
French Black-pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fat and onions
Remove the sinewy skin from the pork fat and cut it into ½‑inch dice.
Chop 6 ounces of the same fat finely and melt it in a stewpan, removing the cracklings.
Add the chopped onions to the melted fat and boil for a few minutes, then let it cool slightly.
Make the mixture
Pass the pig's blood through a sieve and mix it with the fat and onions.
Add the raw double cream and season with salt, pepper, and spices.
Stir on moderate heat until it thickens like cream.
Fill and poach
Fill the cleaned pig's intestines with the mixture, tying both ends securely.
Poach the filled intestines in warm water until cooked through, then drain and cool on a cloth.
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.
-
Pork + oniontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,214 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Pork + creamtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,093 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Pork + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,827 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Onion and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,827 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
- Pig's blood
- Sets when heated, thickening the mixture into a firm, sliceable pudding.
- Pork fat
- Adds richness and moisture, keeping the pudding tender rather than dry.
- Double cream
- Adds richness and a smoother, softer texture to the mixture.
- Onions
- Add sweetness and savoury flavour that balances the blood and fat.
The step that matters
Stirring the mixture on moderate heat. Blood protein sets as it heats, so it must thicken gently while stirring. Too much heat or no stirring can scorch the base or cause lumps and curdling, leaving a grainy texture.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, cream, pepper):
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Spinachfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, cream, pepper. 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 black pudding recipes
You might also like
Pork Cake107 recipes
Roast Pork82 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 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.