Why it works: Wheat and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,418 recipes. Both carry (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, melon. The science ↓
Cracked Wheat
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the wheat
Add a half teaspoon of salt to three cupfuls of water.
Bring the water to a boil.
Add a half cupful of cracked wheat to the boiling water.
Cook uncovered until the water is nearly evaporated.
Add three cupfuls of hot milk.
Cover and cook until the wheat is soft.
Uncover and cook until the desired consistency is reached.
Stir carefully from time to time, avoiding breaking the grains.
Set and serve
Transfer the cooked mixture into molds to harden.
Serve cold with sugar and milk.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 4 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Wheat | 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.
-
Wheat + milktop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cracked wheat
- Forms the body of the porridge as its starch swells and softens during cooking.
- Milk
- Adds moisture, richness and softness, and helps the mixture set when cooled.
- Water
- Hydrates the cracked wheat so its grains can soften as it cooks.
The step that matters
Stir carefully from time to time. Cracked wheat grains break down easily when stirred hard, which turns the porridge gummy and uneven. Gentle stirring keeps the grains whole while the starch cooks evenly.
“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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