Why it works: Ginger and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,380 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Ginger Bread
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 your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the egg and molasses, mixing well.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, alternating with the sour milk.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan.
Bake for 30-40 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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Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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 bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk and molasses to produce gas that lifts the loaf.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and carries flavor.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color, and a deep sweetness with a hint of bitterness.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds moisture and tenderness.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure as it sets in the oven.
The step that matters
Alternating the dry ingredients with the sour milk. Adding dry ingredients in portions, alternating with the liquid, keeps the batter smooth and prevents overmixing. Overmixing develops gluten, which makes the loaf tough and dense.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, molasses, sugar, butter, milk, flour, cinnamon):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, molasses, sugar, butter, milk, flour, cinnamon. 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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