Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
How We Cook in Tennessee
Ingredients
Directions
"The two dearest things in housekeeping are butter and ex- perience. ' ' — Mrs. Whitney.
General Rules for Pastry. — Pastry should be made on a cold, smooth substance, such as marble, mixing with a knife. It should be made quickly ; much handling makes it heavy. Great nicety is required in wetting the paste, too little moisture ren- dering it dry and crumbly, while too much makes it tough and heavy. Reserve half of the butter and a fourth of the flour to be used in rolling out the paste. Roll it out lightly, dredge with flour, and spread with butter; fold, and roll again, repeating the same three or four times, always rolling fast and pressing on lightly. When you see the surface of the paste covered with blisters, you may be sure that it is a success; that is, if it is baked properly, for the quality of the paste depends much on the baking. The oven should be well and evenly heated before baking, and not allowed to cool.
Flaky Pie Crust. — When making pies, the much desired "flaky" crust can be made in this way: When the top crust is on the pies, take a piece of soft butter and with the fingers grease freely the top, on this rub a little flour; then turn the pie in a slanting position and pour gently over it one-half a cup of cold water.
Pastry. — Half pound of flour, quarter pound of lard. Use a pinch of salt ; add enough cold water to mix ; roll very thin. — A. T. Nance.
Pie Crust. — Two cups flour, one scant cup lard, one-quarter teaspoon baking powder and one-quarter spoon salt. Chop
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Lard | 1 tbsp (12.8g) | 115 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | 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.
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.
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 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
More pie crust recipes
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe 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.