Name: Ginger Cookies
Ingredients: one-half cups of molasses; one cup of sugar; one cup lard; one cup sour milk; one tablespoonful vinegar; one teaspoonful ginger; two eggs; one small teaspoon of soda in milk

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 ↓

Ginger Cookies

Ingredients

Directions

Combine molasses, sugar, lard, sour milk, eggs, vinegar, salt, ginger, and soda in milk.
Add flour enough to mix soft.
Bake in hot oven.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

603Calories

22 gProtein

34 gFat

53 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Sour Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Lard	1 tbsp (12.8g)	115
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Molasses	1 tbsp (20g)	58
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2

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

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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. See the original page.

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.

Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,225 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,116 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,806 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar + gingertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together14,054 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together88,785 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Sugar and ginger barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 14,054 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: Adds sweetness, moisture and a dark, rich flavour to the dough.
Eggs: Bind the dough and add structure and richness to the cookies.
Lard: Provides fat for tenderness and a short, crumbly texture.
Soda: Reacts with the acidic sour milk and vinegar to produce lift and browning.

Swap the ginger

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

Cinnamonfits better
Nutmegfits about as well
Gingerthe original
Allspicefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, sugar, milk, vinegar, 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.