Boston Brown Bread

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.

1. Rye + wheattop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together404 recipes

   Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

2. Wheat + milktop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,418 recipes

   Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

3. Rye + flourtop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together1,320 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,373 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Rye + milktop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together918 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Indian meal

Provides the coarse cornmeal body and hearty structure that gives the bread its traditional crumb.

Rye meal

Adds earthy flavor and a dense, moist texture to the crumb.

Wheat flour

Supplies gluten-forming proteins that help hold the loaf together.

Milk

Hydrates the dry meals and flours so the batter can set during steaming.

Molasses

Adds sweetness, dark color and moisture to the finished bread.

Baking soda

Reacts with the acidity of molasses to produce gas that lightens the batter.

The step that matters