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 ↓
Epicurean Pie Crust
Ingredients
Directions
Sift together the flour and baking powder.
Cut half of the butter (or all of the lard if using) into the flour using a knife.
In a bowl, beat the egg lightly and add the ice water.
Mix the egg mixture with the flour mixture.
Roll out the dough and divide the remaining butter into three parts.
Cut one part into small pieces and dot them over the rolled dough.
Sprinkle lightly with flour, fold the dough lengthwise, and roll out again.
Repeat the process until all the butter has been used.
This recipe makes enough for two pie crusts (top and bottom).
You can refrigerate the pie crust for several days before baking.
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.
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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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
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