Boston Brown Bread

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.

1. Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together78,219 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

2. Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together106,462 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

3. Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together10,429 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

4. Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together88,785 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

5. Molasses + milktop 21% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together7,243 recipes

   Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

Flour and milk 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

Flour

Provides the structure that holds the loaf together as it sets.

Cornmeal

Gives the bread its coarse, dense texture and body.

Molasses

Adds sweetness, dark colour and moisture to the crumb.

Baking soda

Reacts with the acidity in the batter to produce gas that lifts the bread.

Baking powder

Provides extra rising power so the loaf lightens during steaming.

Eggs

Bind the batter and help set the structure of the loaf.

The step that matters