Why it works: Ginger and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, combine melted lard or butter with boiling water.
Fill the cup with molasses and mix well.
Add ground ginger, baking soda, and ground cloves to the mixture.
Gradually add flour until the dough is manageable.
Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes.
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.
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.
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Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,038 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + clovetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,483 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Clove + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,671 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, molasses, clove, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Allspicefits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, molasses, clove, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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