Name: Boston Brown Bread
Ingredients: 1 cup molasses; 1 teaspoon salt; 3 cups cornmeal; 2 cups Graham flour

Why it works: Molasses and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,429 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Boston Brown Bread

Ingredients

1 cup molasses
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups cornmeal
2 cups Graham flour

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Mix the batter

In a large bowl, mix together the molasses and salt.
Gradually add the cornmeal and Graham flour, stirring until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased loaf pan.

Bake

Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

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.

Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,429 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

Molasses: Adds sweetness, moisture, and the dark color and deep flavor of the bread.
Cornmeal: Gives the loaf its coarse, crumbly texture and much of its structure.
Graham flour: Adds body and a nutty, wholesome flavor to the loaf.

“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.