Why it works: Milk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Gingerbread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the milk.
In a bowl, stir the milk mixture into the beaten eggs.
Gradually sift in the flour and mix until smooth.
Fold in the currants.
Bake and serve
Spread the mixture on two buttered baking sheets.
Bake for 35 minutes.
Remove from sheets and let cool before serving.
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.
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Ginger + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,564 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + curranttop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,475 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and flour 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
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as they set in the oven.
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Reacts with moisture and heat to release gas, helping the gingerbread rise.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the main structure of the batter as its proteins and starch set on baking.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and helps dissolve the bicarbonate of soda into the batter.
- Currants
- Add pockets of chewy sweetness and fruit flavour throughout the bake.
The step that matters
Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the milk. Bicarbonate of soda needs to be fully dissolved so it reacts evenly with moisture and heat. Uneven dissolving leaves pockets of sharp soda flavour and uneven rising.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ginger, egg, milk, flour):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Lemonfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against ginger, egg, 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.
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