Why it works: Milk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Yorkshire Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Beat the egg until light coloured and thick.
Add the egg to the milk.
Sift the flour and salt, then add enough to the eggs to make a stiff paste, ensuring there are no lumps.
Add the remaining mixture and beat until smooth.
Bake and serve
Pour into a brick-shaped pan and bake for 30 minutes in a hot oven (400 °F / 200 °C).
Cut into squares and serve with roast beef on a hot plate.
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 + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and flour 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
- Egg
- Beaten egg adds structure and helps the batter rise and set as it bakes.
- Flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the pudding its body and crisp, hollow structure.
- Sweet milk
- Provides the liquid that turns the flour into a batter that puffs with steam.
The step that matters
Pour into a hot pan and bake without opening the oven. The batter must go into a very hot, greased pan so it sizzles on contact and starts rising quickly. Opening the oven early can cause the pudding to collapse.
“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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