Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Soft Ginger Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Melt the butter and lard in a saucepan, then add the molasses.
Gradually stir in the flour and milk, followed by the ground ginger.
Beat the egg yolks and add them one by one to the mixture.
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites.
Sprinkle in the baking powder and mix well.
Bake and serve
Divide the batter into two or three square pans.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until done.
Serve warm or cold.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + gingertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,116 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that the batter sets around as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a tender crumb through its fat.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture and the dark colour of the gingerbread.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, and the whites help lighten the batter.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the gingerbread rises.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps keep the crumb soft.
The step that matters
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Beaten whites hold air that gives lift. Folding gently keeps that air in the batter, so the gingerbread bakes up light instead of dense.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, molasses, milk, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerthe original
- Allspicefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, sugar, molasses, milk, egg. 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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