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 ↓
Salsify or Oyster Plant Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the salsify
Scrape the root well.
Cut the root in pieces.
Boil the pieces until tender.
Mash the boiled root finely.
Make the batter
Add three eggs, well beaten.
Add salt and pepper to season.
Add two spoonfuls of butter.
Add one-half cup of milk.
Add a little flour.
Dip a spoonful at a time.
Fry the spoonfuls until brown in lard.
Other vegetables
Boil peas in very little water.
Boil string-beans two hours, in a good deal of water.
Boil spinach twenty minutes.
Boil beet-tops one hour.
Boil potatoes twenty or thirty minutes.
Boil turnips sixty or eighty minutes.
Boil asparagus twenty-five minutes.
Boil green corn fifteen minutes.
Boil Lima beans half an hour.
Boil cauliflower three-quarters of an hour.
Note on vinegar
When adding hot vinegar to eggs, pour the vinegar on the eggs to avoid curdling.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| 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.
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 pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salsify root (in the method)
- Forms the main body of the fritters, giving them their bulk and flavour.
- Eggs
- Bind the mashed root together and help the fritters set when fried.
- Milk
- Adds moisture, loosening the mixture into a workable batter.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, contributing flavour and tenderness.
- Flour (in the method)
- Thickens the mixture so the spoonfuls hold their shape while frying.
The step that matters
Pour the hot vinegar onto the eggs. Adding hot liquid straight into beaten eggs can scramble them. Pouring the vinegar over the eggs, as the record directs, helps avoid curdling.
“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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