Name: Oven Scones
Ingredients: 4 cupfuls flour; 5 tablespoonfuls Crisco; 1 tablespoonfuls sugar; ½ teaspoonful salt; 1 teaspoonful baking soda; 2 teaspoonfuls cream of tartar; 1 egg; Sweet milk

Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Oven Scones

Ovena hot oven

Timeten minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the dough

Rub Crisco finely into flour, then add sugar, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
Beat the egg; pour half into a cup.
With the remaining half of the egg and some sweet milk, combine with the dry ingredients to form a soft dough.
Knead the dough very little on a floured baking board.
Divide the dough into five pieces, smooth each piece, and roll out, not too thinly.
Cut the rolled dough into four small cakes.

Bake and serve

Lay the cakes on a tin greased with Crisco.
Brush the tops with the remaining egg.
Bake in a hot oven for ten minutes.
Optionally add currants or raisins if desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

782Calories

28 gProtein

20 gFat

121 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together78,219 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Cream + milktop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,399 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

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: Provides the structure that holds the scones together once baked.
Crisco: Rubbed into the flour to tenderize the crumb and add richness.
Baking soda: Reacts with the cream of tartar to produce gas that lifts the scones.
Cream of tartar: Acid that reacts with the baking soda, helping the scones rise.
Egg: Adds richness and structure, and its glaze browns the tops.