Why it works: Flour and semolina match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 325 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Milk Banitsa
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the pastry
Prepare a medium-hard dough from the flour, 1 egg, oil, vinegar and water and roll into sheets (500g of ready pastry sheets may also be used).
Place the sheets in a tray, basting each with melted butter.
Make the custard
Bring the milk to the boil, add the sugar, remaining butter and semolina under constant stirring, followed by the beaten eggs when cooled.
Mix well and pour over the pastry sheets.
Bake and serve
Bake in a moderate oven.
Serve into pieces and sprinkle with icing sugar.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 9 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Semolina | not in our table | 0 |
| Sunflower Oil | not in our table | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
-
Flour + semolinatop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together325 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Flour + sunflowertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together803 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Semolina + sunflowertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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
- Flour
- Forms the elastic dough that holds the layered sheets together.
- Eggs
- Set the custard when baked, giving it a firm, sliceable texture.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, adding richness and softness.
- Butter
- Adds fat that brushes the sheets, helping them crisp and brown.
- Semolina
- Thickens the milk mixture, giving the custard body.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and aids gentle browning in the oven.
The step that matters
Pouring the beaten eggs into the milk mixture. Add the eggs only once the milk mixture has cooled slightly, because hot liquid can scramble eggs. Smooth, cooled custard sets evenly and holds together when baked.
“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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