Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Doughnuts
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 375°F (190°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 the dough
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
In another bowl, beat eggs, then add milk and melted butter.
Combine wet and dry ingredients until just mixed.
Roll out dough on a floured surface to about ½ inch thick.
Cut into doughnut shapes using a cutter.
Fry and finish
Heat oil in a deep pan to 375°F (190°C).
Fry doughnuts until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.
Drain on paper towels and dust with sugar if desired.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour and butter 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
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the starch and gluten structure that gives the doughnuts their body.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping bind the dough and set during frying.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas as the dough heats, helping the doughnuts rise and turn light.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and hydrates the flour so the dough comes together.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a richer flavor in the crumb.
- Granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown during frying.
The step that matters
Heat oil to 375°F (190°C). If the oil is too cool, doughnuts absorb excess oil and turn greasy; if too hot, the outside browns before the centre cooks through. Steady temperature gives an even, golden result.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, egg, milk, butter):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Jalapenofits less well
- Capersfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, egg, milk, butter. 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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