Name: Ginger Cake
Ingredients: one half cup butter; one quart of flour; one heaping teaspoon soda; ginger; salt

Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Ginger Cake

Ingredients

Directions

Mix one half cup butter, one of molasses, one of sugar, one of cold water, one heaping teaspoon soda, and one quart of flour.
Add ginger and salt to taste.
Drop batter on tins and bake in a quick oven.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

608Calories

13 gProtein

13 gFat

108 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

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

By Home for the Friendless (Chicago, Ill.). 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.

Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + gingertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,564 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter + gingertop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,152 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

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

Butter: Adds fat for tenderness and a rich mouthfeel in the crumb.
Flour: Provides the structure that holds the batter together as it bakes.
Soda: Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that lifts the cake.
Molasses (in the method): Adds sweetness, moisture, and depth, and gives the cake its dark color.