Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Sultana Scones
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Combine 2 breakfast cups flour, 3 moderate teaspoons Edmonds’ Baking Powder, 2 tablespoonfuls butter, 2 dessertspoonfuls sugar, 1 egg, half pint milk, salt to taste, and 1 oz. sultanas or currants.
Rub the butter (or lard) into the flour, and add the sugar, sultanas, and baking powder.
Beat the egg, and add the milk to it, then mix all together to a wet dough.
Shape and bake
Roll out on floured board; cut into shapes, and bake in moderate oven 20 minutes.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| 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.
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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 that holds the scone together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the wet dough, so the scones rise and turn light.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and gives a rich flavour.
- Egg
- Binds the dough and adds moisture and structure.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flour to form a soft, workable dough and adds moisture.
- Sultanas (in the method)
- Add sweetness and chewy pockets of fruit through the scones.
The step that matters
Mixing the wet dough. Once the liquid is added, overworking the dough develops gluten and makes scones tough. Mix only until the dough just comes together, then handle it lightly when rolling and cutting.
“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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