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 ↓
Rhubarb Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the rhubarb
Cut rhubarb into pieces about an inch long.
Wash the rhubarb pieces in plenty of water.
Drain the rhubarb in a colander or sieve.
Make the paste
Place the flour in a pan or on a table.
Make a hollow in the middle of the flour with your fist.
Add salt and baking powder into the hollow.
Pour water to dissolve the salt and baking powder.
Add the butter to the mixture.
Mix all ingredients with your fingers until a firm, smooth, compact paste forms.
Assemble and bake
Place the cleaned rhubarb, sugar, and a gill of water into a pie dish.
Roll out the paste to the exact size of the dish.
Wet the edges of the dish all round.
Place the rolled-out paste over the dish.
Press the thumb of the right hand around the upper part of the edge to fasten the paste.
Make a small hole the size of a sixpence at the top of the pie for ventilation.
Bake the pie for an hour and a quarter.
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 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the paste that holds the pie together.
- Butter
- Adds fat that makes the paste rich and tender when baked.
- Rhubarb (in the method)
- Provides the tart fruit that forms the filling.
- Moist sugar
- Sweetens the tart rhubarb and helps balance its sharpness.
- Baking powder (in the method)
- Releases gas during baking so the crust rises and lightens.
The step that matters
Mixing the paste until firm and smooth. Working the flour and butter together evenly matters: overworking flour develops gluten and makes the crust tough, while uneven fat leaves dry patches, so the paste should be mixed just until it holds together.
“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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