Why it works: Buttermilk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Pancakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Dissolve the baking soda in a little warm water and add it to the buttermilk.
Add the salt and gradually beat in the flour until smooth.
Beat in the sweet milk.
Bake
Bake on a hot griddle for about 15 minutes.
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.
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Buttermilk + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Buttermilk + milktop 41% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together9 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Buttermilk
- Adds moisture and tang, and its acidity reacts with the baking soda to lighten the batter.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to release gas that makes the pancakes rise.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets the pancakes as they cook.
- Sweet milk
- Adds extra liquid that thins the batter and keeps the pancakes moist.
The step that matters
Beat in the flour until smooth. Mixing flour into a wet batter develops gluten, and overbeating makes it stretchy and tough. Stop once the batter is smooth, and let the leavening work quickly before cooking.
“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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