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 ↓
Suet Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a large bowl, combine flour, bread crumbs, suet, raisins, sugar, molasses, egg, and baking powder.
Mix well and add water as needed to form a batter.
Cook
Pour the mixture into a greased pudding mold.
Cover and boil for 2 hours.
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.
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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Raisin + molassestop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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 it sets.
- Suet
- Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and rich as it cooks.
- Egg
- Binds the ingredients together and helps the pudding set.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas that leavens the batter so it rises and lightens.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, and a deep caramel-like flavor.
The step that matters
Add water gradually to form the batter. Too much water thins the batter so it cannot hold its shape, while too little leaves the flour unhydrated and the pudding dense and dry. Adding it as needed lets you reach a thick, spoonable consistency.
“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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