Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Gingerbread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream together the sugar and butter.
Add the molasses and eggs, mixing well.
Dissolve the baking soda in the milk and add it to the mixture.
Gradually stir in the flour and ginger until well combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) 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.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 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
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness to the crumb.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color, and a deep sweetness with a slight acidity.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and flavor in the crumb.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps tenderize the cake while creaming with butter aerates the batter.
The step that matters
Dissolve the baking soda in the milk. Baking soda needs to be fully dissolved and evenly mixed so it reacts with the molasses throughout the batter. Unevenly distributed soda can leave pockets of bitter taste or uneven rising.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, molasses, egg, milk, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerthe original
- Allspicefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, molasses, egg, milk, 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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