Why it works: Ginger and tea 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 ↓
Plebeian Ginger Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Mix three large spoonsful of pounded ginger with three quarts of flour, and sift it.
Dissolve three teaspoonsful of pearl-ash in a cup of water, and pour it over the flour.
Melt half a pound of butter in a quart of molasses.
Mix the melted butter and molasses with the flour.
Shape and bake
Knead the dough well.
Cut it into shapes.
Bake it.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| 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.
-
Ginger + teatop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together216 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Flour + gingertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,564 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour and butter 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
- Flour
- Forms the main structure that holds the dough together and sets when baked.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, depth of flavour, moisture, and a darker browning colour.
- Butter
- Adds fat that gives the dough richness and a tender texture.
- Pearl-ash
- Acts as a leavening agent that helps the gingerbread rise and lighten.
- Pounded ginger
- Provides the warm, spicy aroma and flavour that define the gingerbread.
The step that matters
Dissolve the pearl-ash fully before adding it to the flour. Pearl-ash must be completely dissolved in the water so it spreads evenly through the flour. Undissolved lumps can leave pockets that react unevenly, causing patchy rising and uneven browning.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, molasses, tea):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Gingerthe original
- Clovefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, molasses, 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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