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 ↓
German Pancake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Mix eggs, milk, flour, and salt in a bowl until well combined.
Cook and bake
Heat an 8‑inch frying pan and add the lard and butter.
Once melted, pour the batter into the pan and cook for a short time.
Quickly flip the pancake and cook for about 1 minute, keeping the inside soft.
Transfer the pan to a 400°F (200°C) oven and bake for 5 minutes until puffed up.
Serve immediately with powdered sugar or jelly.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 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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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Eggs
- Provide structure and set the custard-like batter as it bakes.
- Flour
- Gives the batter body so it holds its shape while puffing.
- Milk
- Adds moisture that turns to steam, helping the pancake rise.
- Butter
- Adds fat and flavor and helps the edges brown in the hot pan.
The step that matters
Preheating the pan with fat before adding batter. The batter must hit a hot, fat-coated pan so it sets quickly and steam lifts it. A cold pan lets the batter spread and prevents the dramatic puff.
“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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