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 ↓
Henry Thiele's Pancake
4 pancakesIngredients
Directions
Prepare
Preheat oven to 500°F.
Combine milk, salt, and sugar.
Mix in flour gradually, then mix in eggs.
Cook the pancakes
For each pancake, melt 2 Tbsp butter in a pan.
Pour about 1¼ cups batter into the melted butter.
While the batter is frying, gather up the batter in some places to make ridges.
When the batter is the consistency of medium scrambled eggs, put it into the oven for 5 minutes, then remove it from the oven.
Flip the pancake in the pan.
Replace it into the oven for another 2.5 minutes, then remove it from the oven.
Finish and serve
Add a generous amount of lemon juice and a small amount of maple syrup.
Roll the pancake into a cigar shape.
Add lemon juice, maple syrup, and powdered sugar in that order.
Eat.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
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 |
| 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.
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.
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Eggs
- Set during cooking to give the pancake structure and a tender, custardy body.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the batter together as it sets.
- Whole milk
- Adds liquid for moisture and helps the batter spread and cook through.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and flavor, and browns the pancake in the pan.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown.
The step that matters
Put the batter in the oven at the right consistency. The batter should be like medium scrambled eggs before it goes into the oven, so the proteins have partly set and the pancake can hold its shape and ridges. Thinner or wetter batter spreads and stays soft in the middle.
“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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