Why it works: Milk and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Plain Pancakes
Ingredients
Directions
Stir two cupfuls of milk into two beaten eggs.
Add enough flour to make a thin batter.
Add a half teaspoonful of salt and a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder.
If using sour milk, omit the baking powder and add a half teaspoonful of soda.
Add the baking powder or soda just before beginning to bake the cakes.
Beat the eggs separately and add the whipped whites last for lighter cakes.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 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.
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness to the cakes.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flour and loosens the batter to a thin consistency.
- Flour (in the method)
- Forms the gluten network that gives the cakes their body.
- Baking powder (in the method)
- Releases gas in the batter so the cakes rise and turn light.
The step that matters
Add the baking powder or soda just before baking. Baking powder and soda start releasing gas as soon as they hit wet batter. If the batter waits, the gas escapes before heat sets the structure, so the cakes come out flatter and denser.
“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.
You might also like
Rice Gruel28 recipes
Peptoned Milk Gruel9 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.