Why it works: Sorghum and flour share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 99 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Ghee II
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.
Let the butter boil moderately for 5 minutes.
Heat a clean, broken potsherd in fire until it becomes red hot.
Place a quantity of sorghum flour the same size as the potsherd on a plate.
Lay the hot potsherd on top of the sorghum flour in the plate. Flip the whole thing over so that the potsherd is on the bottom.
Cast out the sorghum flour that remains in the plate. Throw the potsherd into the pot of melted butter, and cover with a lid.
Leave potsherd in butter for about 2–3 minutes to impart flavor.
Strain the butter while it simmers on a low heat, skimming away all solid particles, and allowing the whey to evaporate. Strain the butter into a clean container.
If desired, add the smoldering piece of wood vine to the strained butter to impart a smoky flavor.
Store butter in a cool place (e.g. pantry, cellar, etc).
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 5 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Grape Vine | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Sorghum | not in our table | 0 |
| Wood | 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.
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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Sorghum + flourtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together99 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + grapetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,028 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Sorghum + grapetop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Flour + grapetop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,482 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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
Swap the grape
The recipe marks grape as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sorghum, flour):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Grapethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sorghum, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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