Why it works: Flour and buttermilk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Newport Waffles
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mush
Make one pint of Indian meal into mush in the usual way.
While hot, add a small lump of butter and a dessert spoonful of salt to the mush.
Set the mush aside to cool.
Make the batter
Beat the whites and yolks of four eggs separately until very light.
Add the beaten eggs to the cooled mush and mix.
Gradually incorporate one quart of wheaten flour, creaming in.
Add half a pint of buttermilk (or sour cream) that has dissolved half a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda.
Adjust to a thin batter consistency by adding sweet milk as needed.
Bake
Preheat waffle irons for an hour before baking.
Butter the heated irons thoroughly, but nicely.
Pour batter into the irons, filling only half full to allow room for rising.
Bake quickly over a brisk fire until done.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
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 + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Buttermilk + eggtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,986 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Whipped separately, the whites and yolks add lightness and help the waffles rise and set airy.
- Wheaten flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the waffle together once baked.
- Buttermilk
- Its acidity reacts with the soda and adds tenderness and a tangy flavour.
- Carbonate of soda
- Reacts with the acid in the buttermilk to release gas that lifts the batter.
- Indian meal
- Cooked into mush, it gives the waffles body, moisture and a coarser texture.
The step that matters
Fill the irons only half full. The batter expands as it bakes and the soda's gas lifts it. Overfilling spills over and bakes unevenly, while leaving room lets the waffle rise and cook through.
“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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