Name: Flour and Indian Waffles
Ingredients: half cups of sifted flour; one teaspoonful of soda; one teaspoonful of salt; two cups of rich sour milk; a cup of indian meal; one heaping tablespoonful of butter; three-quarters full; 91 breakfast

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 ↓

Flour and Indian Waffles

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

Mix salt and soda with flour and meal.
Cream the butter.
Beat the eggs.
Make a hollow in the middle of the flour, and pour the butter into it; lastly add the sour milk, stirring the whole to a smooth batter.

Bake

Heat the waffle irons, butter them well, fill them three-quarters full, and bake over a clear and steady fire. They should be evenly browned, and not scorched.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

755Calories

21 gProtein

21 gFat

120 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Sour Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
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.

By Colbrath, M. Tarbox. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

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 pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together78,219 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

Sifted flour: Forms the main structure that holds the waffle together.
Sour milk: Provides moisture and acidity that reacts with the soda to lighten the batter.
Soda: Reacts with the acidic sour milk to produce gas that helps the waffles rise.
Butter: Adds fat for tenderness and richness, and helps the waffles brown.
Indian meal: Adds a coarser texture and a slightly crisp edge to the waffles.

The step that matters

Baking over a clear, steady fire. Sugars and proteins in the batter brown quickly, so uneven or fierce heat can scorch the outside before the inside sets. Steady heat lets the waffle cook through and brown evenly.

“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.

Tomato Soup526 recipes

Brown Bread461 recipes

Mutton Broth292 recipes

Yorkshire Pudding264 recipes

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.

Flour and Indian Waffles