Name: Fried Rye Drop-cakes
Ingredients: 2 cups rye meal; 4 cups all-purpose flour; 2 cups milk; 4 large eggs; 2 teaspoons baking soda; 4 teaspoons cream of tartar; 4 tablespoons sugar

Why it works: Rye and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,320 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Fried Rye Drop-cakes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

In a large bowl, combine rye meal, flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sugar.
In another bowl, whisk together milk and eggs.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Fry and drain

Heat oil in a deep pan over medium heat.
Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides.
Remove and drain on paper towels.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Rye + flourtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,320 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Rye + milktop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together918 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together78,219 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

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

Rye meal: Gives the cakes their earthy, distinctive flavour and a tender, slightly dense crumb.
All-purpose flour: Provides the main structure so the batter holds its shape in the hot oil.
Eggs: Bind the batter and add richness and structure as they set.
Baking soda: Reacts with the acid in cream of tartar to produce gas that lifts the batter.
Cream of tartar: Acts as an acid with the baking soda, helping the cakes rise and stay light.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the cakes brown evenly in the hot oil.

The step that matters

Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil. The oil must be hot enough to set the outside quickly. If it is too cool, the cakes absorb grease and turn heavy; if it is too hot, the outside browns before the inside cooks through.

“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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Fried Rye Drop-cakes