Why it works: Buttermilk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Grandmother's Ginger Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the dough
In a large bowl, combine molasses, melted butter and lard, and sour buttermilk.
Dissolve baking soda in the buttermilk mixture.
Add ginger and powdered alum, mixing well.
Gradually add flour until a soft dough forms.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown.
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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Buttermilk + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Molasses + buttermilktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together526 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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Ginger + flourtop 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
- Molasses
- Provides sweetness, moisture, and the dark color and rich flavor of the cakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the sour buttermilk to produce gas, helping the cakes rise and turn tender.
- Sour buttermilk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds moisture and tenderness to the dough.
- Butter and lard
- Adds fat for tenderness and richness, and carries flavor through the cakes.
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the dough, setting as it bakes.
The step that matters
Dissolving the baking soda in the buttermilk mixture. Baking soda needs an acid, here the sour buttermilk and molasses, to release gas. Dissolving it evenly before adding flour spreads the leavening through the dough, so the cakes rise uniformly instead of in patches or with a bitter, soapy taste from pockets of soda.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, butter, buttermilk, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, butter, buttermilk, 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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