Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Ginger-bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
In a very large bowl, combine the molasses and melted butter.
Dissolve the baking soda in the sweet milk and add to the mixture.
Dissolve the alum in just enough water to cover it and add to the bowl.
Gradually mix in enough flour to form a stiff dough that can be rolled out.
Shape and bake
Roll the dough out to about ½ inch thick and cut into desired shapes.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until done.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + milktop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,243 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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
What each ingredient does
- Molasses or strained honey
- Provides sweetness, moisture and the dark color and flavor of the gingerbread.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and richness in the dough.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that leavens the gingerbread.
- Flour
- Forms the gluten structure that gives the stiff dough its shape.
The step that matters
Dissolve the baking soda in the sweet milk before adding it. Baking soda must be fully dissolved so it reacts evenly with the acidic molasses; undissolved pockets can cause uneven rising and dark spots in the baked gingerbread.
“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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