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 ↓
Jelly Tarts
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Rub the butter into the sifted flour until well combined.
Dissolve the salt volatile in a little cold water and mix it with the cold water.
Combine the flour mixture with the water mixture and beat with a rolling pin.
Cut the dough into round cakes.
Bake and fill
Wet the tops with the beaten egg and sprinkle with white sugar.
Bake until golden, then place a spoonful of jelly in the center of each tart.
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 + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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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).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the dough that holds the tart shape.
- Butter
- Adds fat that makes the pastry tender and flaky when rubbed into the flour.
- Cold water
- Moistens the flour so the dough comes together without melting the butter.
- Beaten egg
- Brushed on the tops to promote browning and a glossy golden finish.
- White sugar
- Sprinkled on the tops to add sweetness and aid browning.
The step that matters
Keep the butter cold and rubbed into the flour. Butter left as distinct pieces melts during baking and creates layers, while butter that softens or melts into the flour makes the pastry dense and greasy.
“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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