Why it works: Tea and ginger work together. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 216 recipes. Both carry (e)-2-octenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Ginger Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Serve with sauce.
Combine one cupful of molasses and one cupful of boiling water; add one tablespoon of butter, one teaspoon of soda, and ginger, or more if desired.
Add enough flour to make a batter that will drop from a spoon.
Bake quickly in a long pan, or in loaves.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| 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.
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.
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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Tea + gingertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together216 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Butter + teatop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together703 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
-
Butter + gingertop 26% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,152 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
-
Molasses + buttertop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,123 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Molasses
- Provides sweetness, dark color, and moisture to the pudding.
- Soda
- Reacts with the molasses to produce gas that lightens the batter as it rises.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender texture and richer flavor.
- Ginger
- Supplies the warm, spicy aroma that defines the pudding.
The step that matters
Bake quickly. Baking soda starts releasing gas as soon as it meets the moist, slightly acidic molasses mixture. If the batter sits before baking, much of that gas escapes, so the pudding may bake up flat and dense. Getting the batter into the oven promptly keeps the rise.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, butter, tea):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Gingerthe original
- Clovefits less well
- Nutmegfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, butter, tea. 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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