Name: Nut Loaf
Ingredients: 1 egg; 1 cup brown sugar; 1 cup chopped walnuts; 1 cup chopped dates; 1½ cups sweet milk; 1 teaspoon salt; 4 cups flour; 4 teaspoons baking powder

Why it works: Walnut and dates work together. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 302 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Nut Loaf

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Mix the batter

In a large bowl, combine the egg, brown sugar, chopped walnuts, chopped dates, sweet milk, and salt.
In another bowl, mix the flour and baking powder together.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until well combined.

Rise and bake

Let the mixture rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Walnut + datestop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together302 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Walnut + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,873 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together78,219 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Dates + milktop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together470 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

Flour: Provides the structure that holds the loaf together as it bakes.
Baking powder: Releases gas in the batter, lifting the loaf so it rises and becomes light.
Egg: Binds the batter and adds structure as it sets in the oven.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the crust brown during baking.
Dates: Add moisture and natural sweetness, keeping the loaf soft and chewy.
Walnuts: Add texture and a rich, toasty flavor to the loaf.