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 ↓
Soft 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.
Make the batter
In a bowl, cream together the brown sugar and lard.
Add the eggs and beat well.
Stir in the molasses and hot water.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, then stir in the ginger.
Mix until well combined and pour into a greased baking pan.
Bake
Bake at 350°F (175°C) until a toothpick inserted 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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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).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Provides the structure that holds the soft crumb together as the batter sets.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color, and deep sweetness with a robust flavor.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and moisture to the crumb.
- Lard
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and carries flavor.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking to give additional lift and a lighter texture.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Adding flour in portions and mixing only until combined keeps the batter smooth and limits gluten development, which would otherwise make the bread tough and dense.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, molasses, egg, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, egg, 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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