Why it works: Clove and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Gingerbread Nuts
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
Cut the butter into the flour and mix with the ginger and other spices.
Wet the mixture with the molasses and stir well with a knife.
Add the dissolved pearl ash or baking soda.
If the molasses is thin or the weather is warm, add more flour.
Flour your work surface, take a large handful of dough, and knead it into separate cakes.
Combine all the dough and knead it very hard for a long time.
Shape and bake
Cut the dough in half, roll it out into two even sheets about ½ inch thick, and cut into small cakes.
For a different shape, roll small pieces of dough into balls.
Place the cakes in buttered pans and bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C), being careful not to scorch them.
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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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Allspice + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,536 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,038 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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 structure that holds the dough together as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and carries the spice flavour.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, sweetness and deep colour, and helps the dough bind.
- Ground ginger
- Supplies the main warm, spicy aroma that defines the nuts.
- Pearl ash or baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to lighten the dough and help it spread and brown.
The step that matters
Knead the dough very hard for a long time. Long kneading develops gluten so the dough becomes firm and cuts cleanly. Adding too much flour to counter stickiness can make the nuts dry and tough.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, molasses, allspice, clove, cinnamon):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Gingerthe original
- Turmericfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, sugar, molasses, allspice, clove, cinnamon. 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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