Name: Thanksgiving Pudding
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon baking powder; ½ cup finely chopped citron; ½ cup finely chopped suet; ¾ cup flour; the grated rind of a small lemon; 1½ cups soft bread crumbs; ½ cup chopped walnuts; 1 cup scalded milk; ¼ teaspoon nutmeg; ½ cup sugar; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 5 eggs; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 cup raisins; 2 tablespoons brandy; 2 tablespoons sherry; ½ cup finely chopped dates

Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,917 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Walnut + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,230 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,318 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Walnut + cinnamontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,147 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,950 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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 and richness as they set during steaming.
Flour: Provides the main structure that holds the pudding together.
Suet: Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and tender as it steams.
Bread crumbs: Soak up the hot milk to add moisture and a soft, light body.
Baking powder: Releases gas that helps the pudding rise and lighten.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps give the pudding a rich flavour.

The step that matters

Steam in a buttered mold for six hours. Steaming gently and steadily cooks the eggs and starch through without drying the pudding. Letting the water boil dry or cooking too briefly can leave it heavy or undercooked in the centre.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, bread, walnut, milk, nutmeg, sugar, cinnamon):

Raisinfits better
Vanillafits better
Figfits better
Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, bread, walnut, milk, nutmeg, sugar, cinnamon. 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.

Thanksgiving Pudding