Name: Ginger Cookies
Ingredients: two cups molasses; four tea- spoons soda; three stirred in the flour; two eggs

Why it works: Flour and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Ginger Cookies

Ingredients

two cups molasses
four tea- spoons soda
three stirred in the flour
two eggs

Directions

Miss Tina Lay, Clyde.
Two cups molasses, one of lard, one of sugar, two- thirds cup sour milk, tablespoon ginger, four tea- spoons soda, three stirred in the flour and one in the milk ; two eggs.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

640Calories

19 gProtein

6 gFat

123 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Molasses	1 tbsp (20g)	58
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49

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

By Women of the First Congregational Church (Marysville, Ohio). 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.

Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,429 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Tea + flourtop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together449 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Molasses + teatop 31% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together139 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Tea + eggtop 31% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together821 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).