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 ↓
Griddle Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the flour and buttermilk until combined.
Dissolve the baking soda in a small amount of water and add it to the mixture.
Beat the eggs and fold them into the batter.
Cook and serve
Bake immediately on a hot griddle and serve.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Buttermilk + eggtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,986 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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 holds the cakes together as they cook.
- Buttermilk or sour milk
- Adds moisture and acidity that helps the baking soda react.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to produce gas that makes the cakes rise.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness and help bind the batter.
The step that matters
Bake immediately on a hot griddle. Baking soda starts reacting as soon as it meets the acidic buttermilk, so the batter loses its rising power if it waits. A hot griddle sets the batter quickly while the gas bubbles are still forming.
“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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