Why it works: Flour and buttermilk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Ginger Pudding
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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the molasses and eggs, mixing well.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and ginger.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, alternating with the buttermilk.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Bake for about 45 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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Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + buttermilktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together526 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter 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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the pudding together as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, contributing tenderness and flavor to the crumb.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and help set the structure as it bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk and molasses to produce gas that lifts the batter.
- Buttermilk
- Adds moisture and acidity that tenderizes the crumb and activates the baking soda.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color, and deep sweetness with a slight acidity.
The step that matters
Alternating the dry ingredients with the buttermilk. Adding flour in portions alongside the liquid keeps the batter smooth and prevents lumps. Overmixing once flour is fully hydrated develops gluten, which can make the pudding tough and dense.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, molasses, butter, buttermilk, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, molasses, butter, buttermilk, egg. 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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