Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Pork Cake
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.
Make the batter
In a large bowl, combine sugar, molasses, and sour milk.
Add minced pork, chopped raisins, and eggs. Mix well.
Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda until fully incorporated.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) until a toothpick inserted in the center 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.
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.
-
Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
-
Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
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
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as they set during baking.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidity of the sour milk and molasses to help the cake rise.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color, and a deep sweetness with mild acidity.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and tenderizes the crumb.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the batter and helps keep the cake moist and browned.
The step that matters
Stirring in the baking soda. Baking soda reacts right away with the acidic sour milk and molasses, so it should be fully mixed in and the batter baked promptly to keep the rise even and the crumb light.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, molasses, milk, pork, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits about as well
- Applefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, milk, pork, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg. 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.
You might also like
Roast Pork82 recipes
Molasses Sauce32 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipesThe 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.