Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
White Soda Biscuit
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Rub two teaspoonfuls of the Breadmaker's Baking Powder and two tablespoonfuls of lard into one quart of pastry flour.
Dissolve one teaspoonful of salt in two teacupfuls of new milk.
Mix and shape
Mix rapidly with as few strokes as possible.
If the dough is too thick, add more milk.
Mold out lightly.
Cut into cakes half an inch thick.
Bake
Bake in a quick oven.
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 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Lard | 1 tbsp (12.8g) | 115 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Pastry | 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.
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Pastry flour
- Forms the main structure of the biscuit as its proteins and starch set in the oven.
- Lard
- Shortens the dough, giving a tender, flaky texture by coating flour particles.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas when heated, making the biscuits rise and become light.
- New milk
- Hydrates the flour to form the dough and adds moisture and browning.
The step that matters
Mix rapidly with as few strokes as possible. Overworking wheat flour dough develops gluten, which makes biscuits tough instead of tender. Quick, minimal handling keeps the texture short and light.
“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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