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 ↓
Ginger Pudding
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 the sugar, molasses, and butter until well combined.
Add the sour milk and eggs, mixing thoroughly.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, ginger, and baking soda.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until smooth.
Bake and serve
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Serve warm with soft sauce.
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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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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Flour + buttertop 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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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter 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 pudding together as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and help set the structure as it bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk and molasses to lift the batter as it bakes.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, and moisture to the batter.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender texture and rich flavor.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds tenderness.
The step that matters
Stirring in the dry ingredients. Adding the dry mixture gradually and stirring only until smooth keeps the batter from becoming tough. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour, which makes the pudding dense and chewy rather than light.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, molasses, flour, butter, milk, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerthe original
- Allspicefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, flour, butter, milk, egg. 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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