Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Jam Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth.
Add the well-beaten egg and cream again.
Sift the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together three times.
Add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the milk and jam to the butter mixture. Beat well after all ingredients are combined.
Layer and bake
Grease and flour two layer cake pans.
Pour a layer of the dough mixture into both pans, then add a layer of raspberry jam on top.
Spread the remaining dough over the jam in both pans.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 25 minutes, being careful not to over-bake.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + raspberrytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,014 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Butter and flour 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 sets the pudding's crumb as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and carries flavour.
- Sugar
- Creamed with butter to add sweetness and help create a light texture.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure and richness.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the pudding rises and becomes light.
- Jam
- Adds fruit sweetness and a moist, tangy layer through the pudding.
The step that matters
Avoid over-baking. Over-baking dries out the crumb and drives off moisture, so the pudding turns dry and crumbly. Removing it once it is just set keeps it moist.
Swap the raspberry
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, milk, flour):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Raspberrythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, milk, flour. 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.
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