Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Ginger Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar.
Add the sour milk, molasses, ginger, baking soda, salt, and flour. Mix well.
Beat in the egg until fully incorporated.
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan.
Bake
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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.
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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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 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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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Ginger + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,564 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Provides the structure that sets the crumb as the batter bakes.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure and richness to the crumb.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk and molasses to produce gas that lifts the batter.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark colour, and deep sweetness with a characteristic flavour.
- Shortening
- Creamed with sugar to trap air and tenderise the crumb with fat.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds tenderness and moisture.
The step that matters
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Baking soda starts lifting the batter as soon as it meets the acidic liquids, so the batter should go into the oven promptly. Pulling the cake too early leaves a wet, sunken centre, while overbaking dries the crumb.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, molasses, flour, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk, molasses, flour, egg. 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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