Why it works: Butter and milk 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
Prepare the batter
In a bowl, combine the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt.
In another bowl, beat the eggs and mix in the melted butter.
Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients.
Gradually add milk until the batter reaches your desired consistency.
Cook the cakes
Heat a griddle.
Pour batter to form cakes.
Cook until golden brown on both sides.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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 + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cakes together as they cook.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness to the cakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas when heated, making the cakes rise and turn light.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and flavor, and helps browning on the griddle.
- Milk
- Adds liquid that sets the batter's consistency and hydrates the flour.
The step that matters
Cook until golden brown on both sides. The griddle must be hot enough for browning, but the batter must be poured once bubbles form and the surface is set, or the cakes will be raw inside. Flipping too early tears them and traps uncooked batter.
“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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