Why it works: Molasses and ginger are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,116 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Indian Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the pudding base
In a double boiler, cook the milk and cornmeal for 20 minutes.
Add the molasses, salt, and ginger, and mix well.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into a buttered pudding dish.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for two hours, or use a fireless cooker.
Serve warm with milk.
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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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + gingertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,519 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
-
Milk + molassestop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,243 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cornmeal
- Thickens the milk as it cooks, giving the pudding its body and a soft, spoonable texture.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the cornmeal swells in and that sets into a custard-like pudding.
- Molasses
- Adds dark sweetness and a deep caramel flavor, and helps colour the pudding as it bakes.
The step that matters
Cooking the cornmeal in the milk. Cornmeal must cook long enough in the hot milk for its starch to swell and thicken; stirring it in a double boiler keeps the milk from scorching while the mixture thickens evenly.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, molasses):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
- Allspicefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, molasses. 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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