Name: Ginger Pudding
Ingredients: 3 cups flour; ½ cup sugar; ½ cup golden syrup; ½ cup suet; 3 teaspoons baking powder; 2 teaspoons ground ginger; water (as needed)

Why it works: Sugar and syrup match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,842 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Ginger Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the batter

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, golden syrup, suet, baking powder, and ground ginger.
Mix in enough water to create a thin batter.
Pour the batter into a greased pudding mold.

Steam and serve

Steam for 2 hours.
Serve with sweet sauce.

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.

Sugar + syruptop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,842 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour + gingertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,564 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Syrup + gingertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together950 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour + syruptop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,540 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour: Forms the main structure of the pudding as the batter sets.
Suet: Adds fat that keeps the pudding tender and rich.
Golden syrup: Adds sweetness, moisture and a deep flavour.
Baking powder: Releases gas that lifts the pudding so it rises and stays light.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps browning and flavour develop.
Ground ginger: Provides the warm, spicy aroma that defines the dish.