Why it works: Molasses and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 34% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,879 recipes. The science ↓
Hop Beer
Ingredients
Directions
Place the hops in a bag and boil them in 3 pails full of water for 15 minutes.
Add the molasses while the mixture is hot and pour it into a strong ale cask that is airtight.
Add the remaining cold water and let the mixture cool.
Once cool, add the eggs.
Store in a warm place to ferment; it will keep for 6 to 8 months.
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.
-
Molasses + eggtop 34% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,879 recipes
-
Hops + molassestop 41% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5 recipes
-
Hops + eggtop 42% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Hops
- Adds bitterness and aroma that balance the sweetness of the molasses.
- Molasses
- Supplies sugars for fermentation and adds sweetness and dark, rich flavour.
The step that matters
Add the eggs only once the mixture has cooled. Eggs added to hot liquid can cook and curdle rather than mix in smoothly, so the mixture must be cool first.
“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.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Vegetable Soup350 recipes
Raspberry Vinegar214 recipes
Brown Coffee with Egg175 recipes
Blackberry Cordial129 recipes