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

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

3. 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

Cornmeal

Provides the coarse, crumbly body that gives the bread its structure.

Graham flour

Adds gluten-forming structure and a nutty, wholesome texture to the loaf.

New orleans molasses

Adds sweetness, dark color, and moisture to the bread.

Sour milk or buttermilk

Its acidity reacts with the baking soda to lift the batter and adds tenderness.

Baking soda

Reacts with the acidic milk to produce gas that makes the bread rise.

The step that matters