Why it works: Flour and buttermilk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Molasses Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
Add the molasses and mix well.
Make the batter
In another bowl, combine the flour, ginger, and baking soda.
Dissolve the baking soda in the buttermilk and add to the mixture.
Beat in the eggs one at a time.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture.
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Bake and serve
Bake for 20 minutes.
Serve with sauce.
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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Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Molasses + buttermilktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together526 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).
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
- Flour
- Builds the structure that holds the pudding's crumb together as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, setting the batter as it heats.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender texture and rich flavor.
- Molasses
- Provides sweetness, moisture, deep color and a robust flavor.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in buttermilk to release gas that lifts the batter.
- Buttermilk
- Supplies acidity that activates the baking soda and adds moisture.
The step that matters
Dissolve the baking soda in the buttermilk and add it promptly. Baking soda reacts with the acid in buttermilk to release carbon dioxide bubbles. That gas is what lifts the batter, so the mixture should go into the batter without long delay, before the reaction is spent.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, molasses, flour, egg, buttermilk):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, molasses, flour, egg, buttermilk. 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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