Why it works: Milk and rye work together. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 918 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓
Rye Drop Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, combine sour milk, baking soda, salt, and molasses.
Add rye meal gradually until you achieve a thick batter.
Bake
Drop spoonfuls of the batter into hot iron gem pans.
Bake for about 20 minutes.
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.
-
Milk + ryetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together918 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
-
Molasses + ryetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Milk + molassestop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,243 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sour milk
- Its acidity reacts with baking soda to produce gas, helping the cakes rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to release carbon dioxide, giving the cakes lift.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture and a deep color to the batter.
- Rye meal
- Forms the body of the batter, giving the cakes their structure and earthy flavor.
The step that matters
Drop the batter into hot pans. Batter dropped into preheated iron pans starts setting and browning right away, which helps the cakes rise and form a crisp crust. Cold pans would slow this and leave the cakes denser.
“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.
You might also like
Molasses Cookies96 recipes
Molasses Cake90 recipes
Molasses Sponge Cake9 recipes
White Cake431 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.