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Ancient Roman Pancakes

A pancake made with eggs, milk, olive oil, flour, honey, pepper, and dates.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Olive and wheat match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,100 recipes. Both carry 2-undecenal, which smells sweet. The science ↓

Ancient Roman Pancakes

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Beat together eggs, milk, oil, salt, and flour until you have a runny pancake dough. Add more flour if necessary.

  2. Cook on a hot skillet.

  3. Serve topped with honey, a little pepper, and dates (if you want to). Enjoy!

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

937Calories
28 gProtein
28 gFat
144 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Date1 date (24g) medjool66
Honey1 tbsp (21g)64
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Wheatnot in our table0

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 Wikibooks Cookbook.

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.

  1. Olive + wheattop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,100 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  2. Milk + wheattop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,418 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

  3. Wheat + honeytop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together346 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  4. Milk + honeytop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,336 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).

  5. Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together30,263 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Bind the batter and add structure as the pancakes set.
Milk
Loosens the batter and adds moisture to the pancakes.
Olive oil
Adds fat for tenderness and helps keep the pancakes from sticking.
Flour
Provides the structure that holds the pancakes together when cooked.

The step that matters

Cook on a hot skillet. If the skillet is not hot enough, the pancakes absorb oil, spread out and turn pale and soggy. A hot surface sets the batter quickly so the pancakes stay firm and brown lightly.

Swap the dates

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, milk, olive, flour, wheat, honey, pepper):

  1. Figfits better
  2. Blueberryfits better
  3. Cherryfits better
  4. Datesthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, milk, olive, flour, wheat, honey, pepper. 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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