Why it works: Sugar and sauce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,147 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Plain Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, beat the eggs.
Add flour, milk, salt, and baking powder; mix until smooth.
Fry and serve
Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
Drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil and fry until golden brown.
Remove and drain on paper towels.
Serve warm with powdered sugar, maple syrup, or vinegar sauce.
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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Sugar + saucetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,147 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and help the fritters hold their shape while frying.
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the batter once it is mixed with the liquid.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter to a spoonable consistency.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during frying, helping the fritters rise and stay light.
The step that matters
Frying the batter in hot oil. The oil must be hot enough to set the outside quickly and brown it. If the oil is too cool, the batter absorbs oil and the fritters turn greasy and dense.
“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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