Name: Scones
Ingredients: 1 pint sour milk or buttermilk (or sweet milk); 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (if using sour milk or buttermilk); ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda and 1 teaspoon cream of tartar (if using sweet milk); 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (if using ½ pint molasses)

Why it works: Milk and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,399 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Scones

Ingredients

1 pint sour milk or buttermilk (or sweet milk)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (if using sour milk or buttermilk)
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda and 1 teaspoon cream of tartar (if using sweet milk)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (if using ½ pint molasses)

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
If using sour milk or buttermilk, mix in 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.
If using sweet milk, combine ½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda with 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar.
For molasses, use 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda for every ½ pint of molasses.
Prepare your ingredients by weighing them out carefully before starting.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,399 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Cream + molassestop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,408 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Milk + molassestop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together7,243 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).