Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Dorchester Cracker Plum 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 custard
Heat the milk almost to boiling to make a custard with the eggs and sugar, adding spices. Remove from heat.
Gradually mix in the egg yolks, sugar, seasoning, and egg whites. Do not boil again.
Assemble the pudding
Butter a pudding dish.
Layer the bottom with crackers, moistening with some hot custard.
Add a thick layer of raisins.
Cover with more crackers, buttered side down, and moisten with custard.
Repeat layering until all crackers and fruit are used, pouring custard until just the top layer is visible.
Cover closely and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, add the remaining custard in intervals of 5 or 6 minutes.
Bake and serve
Bake for 2 hours in a 350°F (175°C) oven.
Cover with paper if it hardens too quickly.
Serve hot with sauce.
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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Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Nutmeg + raisintop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set the custard and give the pudding its structure as they cook gently.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard that soaks into the crackers.
- Boston crackers
- Absorb the custard and form the soft, layered body of the pudding.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps it brown lightly as it bakes.
- Raisins
- Add sweetness and chewy pockets of fruit between the cracker layers.
The step that matters
Do not boil the custard after adding the eggs. Egg proteins set at high heat, so boiling or overheating the custard can curdle it into a grainy texture. Adding the remaining custard slowly and keeping it below boiling keeps it smooth and evenly set.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, egg, sugar, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, egg, sugar, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon. 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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