Name: Ft. Atkinson Ginger Bread
Ingredients: 1 cup New Orleans molasses; 1 cup boiling water; 2 cups Gold Medal flour, heaped; ½ cup butter; 1 egg; 1 teaspoon soda; 1 teaspoon ginger; 2 tablespoons sugar

Why it works: Molasses and sugar 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 ↓

Ft. Atkinson Ginger Bread

Ingredients

Directions

To prepare this Ft. Atkinson Ginger Bread Recipe, first stir butter and sugar together, then rub it into the flour till fine, add molasses and yolk of egg and beat well; lastly, add the boiling water and white of egg beaten stiff. Makes a thick sheet in a biscuit pan.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

744Calories

19 gProtein

18 gFat

124 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Molasses	1 tbsp (20g)	58
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Water	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

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.

Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,225 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,116 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour + gingertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,564 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

Swap the ginger

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, flour, butter, egg, sugar):

Cinnamonfits better
Nutmegfits better
Jalapenofits about as well
Gingerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, flour, butter, egg, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.