Why it works: Flour and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,429 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Buckwheat Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Thicken warm water with flour.
Add 1 tablespoon of molasses to the mixture.
In the morning, add a little baking soda.
Ensure the batter is the right consistency.
Cook and serve
Bake the cakes quickly on a griddle.
Serve immediately.
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.
-
Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Warm water
- Hydrates the flour so it forms a pourable batter that cooks into a moist cake.
- Flour
- Provides the starch and proteins that set into the cakes' body and structure.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, depth of flavour and a darker colour to the cakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts to produce gas bubbles that lighten the batter and help the cakes rise.
The step that matters
Ensure the batter is the right consistency. A batter that is too thin spreads out and cooks flat, while one that is too thick stays dense and may not rise evenly. Consistency controls both the shape and the texture of the cakes.
“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.
You might also like
Cornbread345 recipes
Bread Pudding336 recipes
Milk Bread Rolls242 recipes
Potato Bread124 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.