Name: Steam Pudding Without Eggs
Ingredients: 4 cups all-purpose flour; 1 pound chopped raisins; 1½ cups chopped suet; 1 cup molasses; 1 cup brown sugar; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 2 cups sweet milk; ¼ teaspoon salt

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 ↓

Steam Pudding Without Eggs

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

In a large bowl, combine the flour, chopped raisins, chopped suet, molasses, brown sugar, baking soda, sweet milk, and salt, and mix until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased pudding mold.

Steam

Cover the mold with a lid or foil.
Steam for 4 hours.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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 pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,075 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,225 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Raisin + molassestop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,577 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,481 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together78,219 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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 steams.
Suet: Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and rich in texture.
Molasses: Adds dark sweetness and moisture, and contributes to the pudding's colour and flavour.
Baking soda: Reacts with the molasses's acidity to help the pudding rise and lighten.
Raisins: Add pockets of concentrated sweetness and chewy texture throughout the pudding.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and moisture, along with a caramel-like depth of flavour.

The step that matters

Covering the mold and steaming. The mold must be sealed tightly so steam stays inside and cooks the pudding evenly. If steam escapes, the pudding can dry out or cook unevenly. Keep the water simmering steadily for the full time.

“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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Steam Pudding Without Eggs