Why it works: Molasses and sugar 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 Cookies
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the dough
In a large bowl, mix molasses, lard, sugar, sour milk, ginger, and eggs.
Stir in 3 teaspoons of baking soda with the flour, then add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to the milk.
Combine the flour mixture with the wet ingredients until well blended.
Shape and bake
Roll the dough thin and cut into desired shapes.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) until golden.
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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Molasses + sugartop 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).
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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
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture and the dark color and rich flavor typical of ginger cookies.
- Lard
- Adds fat that tenderizes the dough and gives a soft, short texture.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the sour milk to release gas, which lifts and lightens the cookies.
- Sour milk
- Supplies acidity that activates the baking soda and adds moisture to the dough.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add structure as the cookies set in the oven.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cookies in shape as they bake.
The step that matters
Adding the baking soda. Baking soda needs an acid, such as the sour milk, to produce gas. Splitting it between the flour and the milk affects how evenly the cookies rise, so mix it in fully.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, sugar, milk, egg, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, sugar, milk, egg, flour. 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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