Why it works: Flour and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,341 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Doughnuts
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and spice.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg and add it to the dry ingredients.
Melt the shortening and mix it into the dough until combined.
Knead the dough until it is stiff enough to roll out.
Shape and fry
Roll out the dough to about ½ inch thick and cut into shapes.
Heat oil in a deep pan and fry the doughnuts until golden brown on both sides.
Remove and drain on paper towels.
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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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the structure that holds the dough together and lets it be rolled and cut.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the dough, helping the doughnuts rise and stay light.
- Egg
- Binds the dry ingredients and adds richness and structure to the dough.
- Shortening
- Adds fat that tenderizes the dough and gives a softer, more delicate crumb.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown during frying.
The step that matters
Frying until golden brown on both sides. Oil that is too cool lets doughnuts soak up grease and turn heavy, while oil that is too hot browns the outside before the centre cooks. Turning them so both sides brown evenly ensures the dough is fully cooked through.
Swap the cinnamon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, egg):
- Jalapenofits about as well
- Cinnamonthe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Capersfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, 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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