Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Ginger Hauls
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream together the butter and lard.
Gradually beat in the brown sugar, then add the beaten eggs.
Mix the molasses with lukewarm water and add it alternately with the flour, ginger, baking soda, and salt.
Bake
Pour the batter into a well-buttered round muffin pan.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 25 minutes.
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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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + flourtop 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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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + gingertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,564 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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
- Butter and lard
- Provides fat that makes the batter tender and rich.
- Eggs
- Add structure and help bind the batter as it sets.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color, and deep sweetness to the batter.
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the batter together as it bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses to lift the batter and help it rise.
The step that matters
Alternating the molasses mixture with the flour. Adding the wet and dry ingredients in alternating portions keeps the batter smooth and evenly combined, so it bakes with a uniform texture rather than lumps or dense pockets.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, molasses, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, molasses, 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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