Why it works: Molasses and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 30% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,123 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Indian Oake, or Bannock
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.
In a bowl, combine Indian meal, treacle or molasses, salt, and shortening.
Stir in enough scalding water to make a moist dough.
Transfer the mixture to a well-greased pan and smooth the surface with a spoon.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until brown on both sides.
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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Molasses + buttertop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,123 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
- Indian meal
- Forms the bulk of the dough and gives the cake its structure and cornmeal texture.
- Treacle or molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, and a rich flavor to the cake.
- Shortening
- Adds fat, which keeps the cake tender and helps it brown in the oven.
The step that matters
Stir in the scalding water to a moist dough. Scalding water starts to hydrate the cornmeal and softens its starch, so the dough becomes moist and easy to shape. If the dough is too dry, the cake will crumble; too wet, and it will be gummy.
“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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