Why it works: Butter and flour 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 ↓
Crust, for Venison Pasty
Ingredients
Directions
Make the paste
Mix the butter and flour in a bowl.
Add warm water gradually to form a smooth paste.
Incorporate the eggs and work until the paste is consistent.
Line and cover
Line the inside of a dish with the paste, leaving the bottom bare.
Ensure the cover is thick enough to withstand long baking.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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).
Butter and flour 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
- Butter
- Adds fat that keeps the crust tender and rich.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the paste together.
- Eggs
- Bind the paste and add structure and richness.
The step that matters
Ensure the cover is thick enough to withstand long baking. A thin cover can dry out, crack or collapse during a long bake. Enough thickness gives the paste the strength to hold its shape and protect the filling.
“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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