Name: Entire Wheat Brown Bread
Ingredients: two-thirds cup of molasses; one cup of milk; one cup of raisins chopped; one-half cup of hot water; two level eups of entire wheat flour; one level teaspoon of soda dissolved in one-half cup of hot water

Why it works: Raisin and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Entire Wheat Brown Bread

Ingredients

two-thirds cup of molasses
one cup of milk
one cup of raisins chopped
one-half cup of hot water
two level eups of entire wheat flour
one level teaspoon of soda dissolved in one-half cup of hot water

Directions

Combine two level cups of entire wheat flour, two-thirds cup of molasses, one cup of milk, one cup of raisins chopped, one level teaspoon of soda dissolved in one-half cup of hot water, and a teaspoon of salt.
Steam for three or four hours.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

773Calories

22 gProtein

10 gFat

151 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 7 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Molasses	1 tbsp (20g)	58
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Water	not in our table	0
Wheat	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.

By Friday club, Yarmouth, Mass. [from old catalog]. 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.

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.

Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,075 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk + wheattop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,418 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,373 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,577 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together163 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Entire wheat flour: Provides the main structure of the loaf, with bran that gives it a firmer, denser crumb.
Molasses: Adds sweetness, moisture and a dark color to the bread.
Soda: Reacts with the molasses's acidity to produce gas that lightens the batter.
Milk: Adds moisture and richness, and helps the batter bind together.
Raisins: Add pockets of sweetness and moisture throughout the loaf.

“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.