Why it works: Molasses and sugar 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 Puffs
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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the dough
In a large bowl, mix together the molasses, sugar, water, and melted butter.
Add the flour, ginger, and baking soda to the mixture and stir until well combined.
Bake
Drop spoonfuls of the dough onto a baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned.
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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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
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).
-
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
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and a deep brown colour, and its acidity reacts with the baking soda.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets the puffs as they bake.
- Baking soda
- Releases carbon dioxide when it meets the acidic molasses, lifting the dough so the puffs rise.
- Butter
- Adds fat, which tenderises the crumb and carries flavour.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dough and helps the puffs brown in the oven.
- Ginger
- Contributes the warm, spicy aroma that defines the puffs.
The step that matters
Dropping the dough and baking until puffed. Baking soda starts releasing gas as soon as it meets the acidic molasses, so the dough should go into the hot oven promptly. The heat sets the structure before the spoonfuls spread too far, and underbaking leaves the puffs collapsed while overbaking dries them out.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, sugar, butter, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, sugar, butter, 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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