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Jolly Boys

A fried batter made with sour milk, molasses, rye meal, cornmeal, and eggs, served with a light hard sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Jolly Boys

Why it works: Milk and rye work together. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 918 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Jolly Boys

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Mix baking soda into the sour milk.

  2. Add molasses and rye meal until a thin batter forms.

  3. Stir in salt and cornmeal until a stiff batter forms.

  4. Fold in the beaten egg.

Fry and serve

  1. Drop by tablespoonfuls into deep boiling fat and fry until golden brown.

  2. Serve with a light hard sauce.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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.

  1. Milk + ryetop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together918 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Molasses + ryetop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together804 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Milk + molassestop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together7,243 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Egg + ryetop 32% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together484 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sour milk
Reacts with baking soda to lift the batter and adds a tangy flavor.
Baking soda
Reacts with the acid in sour milk to produce gas that makes the batter rise.
Egg
Binds the batter and adds structure and richness to the fritters.
Molasses
Adds sweetness, dark color and moisture to the batter.
Rye meal
Adds earthy flavor and body to the batter.
Cornmeal
Stiffens the batter and gives the fried exterior a firm, crisp texture.

The step that matters

Drop by tablespoonfuls into deep boiling fat and fry until golden brown.. The fat must be hot enough to set the batter quickly, or the fritters will absorb oil and turn greasy. Frying until golden brown ensures the centre cooks through and the surface browns through the Maillard reaction.

“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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