Why it works: Cinnamon and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,380 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Ginger Bread— Without Eggs
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.
Prepare the batter
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Stir in the molasses and sour milk or coffee.
Dissolve the baking soda in a little hot water and add it to the mixture.
Mix in the cinnamon and ginger.
Gradually add the flour, mixing until well combined.
Fold in the raisins.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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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Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cinnamon + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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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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Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Molasses
- Provides the dark color, moisture and characteristic gingerbread flavor.
- Sour milk or coffee
- Supplies liquid and acidity that react with the baking soda to lift the batter.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the sour milk or coffee and molasses to produce gas for rising.
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the batter and helps with browning and moisture.
The step that matters
Dissolve the baking soda in a little hot water. Baking soda must be fully dissolved and mixed evenly so it reacts with the acid throughout the batter; undissolved pockets can leave bitter spots and uneven rising.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, molasses, milk, cinnamon, flour, raisin):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, molasses, milk, cinnamon, flour, raisin. 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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