Cottage Pudding

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.

1. Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together11,318 recipes

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

2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

   Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

3. Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together18,623 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Sugar + saucetop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together5,147 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Flour

Provides the structure that holds the cake's crumb together as it bakes.

Butter

Adds fat for a tender crumb and a rich, smooth sauce.

Sugar

Sweetens the cake and sauce and helps the sauce turn creamy when beaten.

Eggs

Add structure and richness, and thicken the sauce when gently heated.

Baking powder

Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise and become light.

Milk

Adds moisture and helps form a smooth batter with the flour.

The step that matters

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, milk, egg, sauce, nutmeg):

1. Raisinfits better
2. Vanillafits better
3. Figfits about as well
4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, sugar, milk, egg, sauce, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.