Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Ginger Bread
Ingredients
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.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, hot water, shortening, flour, eggs, molasses, ginger, and baking soda.
Stir in the hot water last.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan.
Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + gingertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,564 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Forms the main structure that holds the cake's crumb together as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set.
- Shortening
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and carries flavor.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, deep sweetness, and dark color, and its acidity reacts with the baking soda.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown during baking.
The step that matters
Stir in the hot water last. Hot water helps dissolve the sugar and molasses evenly, and the baking soda needs to be fully mixed in with the acidic molasses so it reacts and lifts the batter evenly rather than leaving dense or uneven pockets.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, flour, egg, molasses):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, flour, egg, 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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