Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Bring the milk to a boil.
Stir in the flour and remove from heat.
Mix in the eggs, dissolved baking soda, and salt.
Fry
Drop pieces the size of a walnut into hot grease.
Fry until golden brown, similar to crullers or doughnuts.
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 + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Forms the starch structure that gives the fritters their body.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and liquid so the flour forms a workable batter.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping the batter hold its shape while frying.
- Baking soda
- Helps the fritters rise and brown in the fat.
The step that matters
Drop the batter into hot grease. Hot fat sets the outside of each piece quickly, so the fritter browns and holds its shape instead of soaking up oil and turning greasy.
“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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