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 ↓
Gingerbread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 350°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Cream together the brown sugar and butter.
Add the molasses and mix well.
Stir in the sour milk and dissolved baking soda.
Mix all ingredients together and add enough flour to form a soft dough.
Add ginger or spice to taste.
Bake
Bake in one large loaf for 30 minutes or two small loaves for 30 minutes in a moderate oven (350°F / 175°C).
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.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the crumb stay soft and dark.
- New orleans molasses
- Provides the dark color, rich flavor, and moisture characteristic of gingerbread.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity reacts with the baking soda so the batter rises and turns tender.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk and molasses to produce gas that leavens the loaf.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the soft dough and sets the crumb as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and carries flavor.
The step that matters
Stirring in the dissolved baking soda. Baking soda must react with the acidic sour milk and molasses while the batter is mixed and before baking. Soda that is not fully dissolved or left to sit too long can leave dark patches or uneven rise, so mix it in evenly and get the batter into the oven promptly.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, molasses, milk, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerthe original
- Jalapenofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, molasses, milk, 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.
More gingerbread recipes
You might also like
Ginger Cookies213 recipes
Molasses Cookies96 recipes
Ginger Cake93 recipes
Molasses Cake90 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.