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 Pudding
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.
Make the batter
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the molasses and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine the sour milk and baking soda, then add to the mixture.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the flour and ginger until well combined.
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Bake and serve
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Serve warm with sauce or enjoy cold.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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 pudding together as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and help it set into a tender, cohesive crumb.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk and molasses to produce gas that lightens the batter.
- Butter
- Adds richness and tenderness, and helps trap air when creamed with sugar.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark colour and a deep sweetness, and gives the pudding its flavour base.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds tenderness to the crumb.
The step that matters
Combining the sour milk and baking soda. Baking soda needs an acid to release carbon dioxide. Adding it to the sour milk first, then mixing it in promptly, lets the gas form in the batter to lighten the crumb before baking.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, molasses, butter, milk, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerthe original
- Allspicefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, molasses, butter, milk, 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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