Why it works: Flour and buttermilk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Soda Scones
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
In a bowl, mix 1 pound of flour with ¼ ounce of baking soda.
Add buttermilk gradually to form a stiff paste.
Roll out the dough to ½ inch thick.
Cut the dough into small triangular pieces.
Bake and serve
Bake the pieces on a griddle over a clear fire until done.
Cut the scones open, spread with fresh butter, and serve hot.
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 + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Buttermilk + buttertop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,674 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the stiff dough together while it bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidity in buttermilk to release gas, helping the scones rise.
- Buttermilk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds tenderness and a slight tang.
The step that matters
Add buttermilk gradually to form a stiff paste. Adding liquid slowly lets you judge the dough's moisture. Too much buttermilk makes the dough sticky and dense, while too little leaves dry, floury pockets that will not rise evenly.
“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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