Why it works: Flour and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Glasgow Wafers
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Mix oatmeal, oats, flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a bowl.
Melt lard in boiling water and add to the dry mixture.
Toss the dough on a floured surface, then roll it as thinly as possible.
Cut the dough into rounds or strips.
Bake and serve
Bake on a well-buttered baking sheet in a 300°F (150°C) oven until crisp.
Serve with a glass of milk.
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 + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Oats + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,169 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Oats + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,548 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the thin wafers together as they bake.
- Lard
- Adds fat that keeps the wafers tender and helps them crisp as they bake.
- Oatmeal
- Gives a fine, sandy texture and a toasty oat flavour to the wafers.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the mixture to lighten it slightly and promote browning.
The step that matters
Roll the dough as thinly as possible. Thin dough has little moisture to drive off, so it dries and crisps in the oven. Thick pieces stay soft and chewy in the centre instead of becoming crisp.
“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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