Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓
Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Beat the yolks of the eggs with the milk.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff.
Combine the yolk mixture with the beaten egg whites gently.
Add the salt and mix well.
Fry and drain
Heat butter or lard in a pan over medium-high heat.
Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the hot fat and fry until golden brown.
Remove and drain on paper towels.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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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
- Whipped whites trap air that lifts the batter, while the yolks add richness and set structure when fried.
- Milk
- Supplies the liquid that hydrates the batter and helps keep the interior tender.
- Butter or lard
- Conducts heat into the batter and promotes browning and a crisp golden crust.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Egg white foam holds air bubbles that leaven the fritters. Stirring vigorously or overmixing deflates the foam, leaving dense, flat fritters, so combine them gently.
“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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