Name: Soft Molasses Ginger-bread
Ingredients: 6 cups all-purpose flour; 2 cups sugar; 2 cups molasses; 1 cup milk; 2 cups butter; 4 eggs; 2 teaspoons ground cloves; 3 tablespoons ground ginger; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 3 teaspoons cream of tartar

Why it works: Clove and ginger 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 ↓

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.

Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,225 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Molasses + clovetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,483 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

All-purpose flour: Provides the main structure that holds the cake's crumb together as it bakes.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps tenderize the crumb while creaming with butter traps air.
Molasses: Adds deep sweetness, dark color, moisture and the characteristic gingerbread flavor.
Butter: Contributes fat for tenderness and richness, and carries flavor through the batter.
Eggs: Add structure and richness, binding the batter as it sets in the oven.
Baking soda: Reacts with the acidic molasses and cream of tartar to produce gas that lifts the batter.

The step that matters

Mixing the baking soda and cream of tartar into the batter just before baking. Baking soda and cream of tartar release gas once combined with liquid. If the batter waits, much of that rising power is lost, leaving a dense result.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, molasses, milk, butter, egg, ginger):

Cinnamonfits better
Nutmegfits better
Cardamomfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, molasses, milk, butter, egg, ginger. 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.

Soft Molasses Ginger-bread