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 ↓
Griddle Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Mix the sour milk, baking soda, beaten egg, melted butter, salt, cornmeal, and flour in a bowl.
Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes before baking.
Dissolve the baking soda in 1 teaspoon of water and add it to the mixture.
Beat the batter thoroughly.
Bake
Bake on a hot soapstone griddle without greasing it.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 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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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Butter and flour 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
- Sour milk
- Provides moisture and acidity that reacts with the baking soda.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the sour milk's acid to produce gas, so the cakes rise and lighten.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure as it sets on the griddle.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a richer flavor and browning.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cakes together.
- Cornmeal
- Adds a slightly grainy texture and corn flavor.
The step that matters
Dissolve the baking soda and beat the batter thoroughly. Baking soda must be fully dissolved and evenly mixed into the acidic sour milk so it reacts evenly. Uneven distribution leaves bitter or soapy patches and uneven rising.
“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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