Why it works: Flour and milk 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 ↓
Pop-overs
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine flour and milk.
Add the beaten yolk of the egg and mix vigorously for about 10 minutes.
Gently fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites.
Bake
Grease gill pans and fill them evenly full.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes or until done.
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 + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 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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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk 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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets the batter walls as they expand in the oven.
- Egg
- Yolk adds richness, and the whipped whites trap air that lifts the batter as it bakes.
- Milk
- Supplies liquid that turns to steam to puff the batter and helps the crust brown.
The step that matters
Gently fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites.. Whites hold air bubbles that make the popovers rise. Vigorous stirring or overmixing deflates them, so the batter loses its lift and the popovers bake up dense.
“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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