Why it works: Milk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Hominy Feittees
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the cold boiled hominy and milk until well combined.
Add the flour, eggs, salt, and baking powder (stirred in a little flour) to the mixture.
Fry and serve
Heat plenty of lard in a frying pan until boiling.
Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the hot lard.
Fry until golden brown.
Serve and enjoy!
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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Milk + flourtop 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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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and flour 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
- Hominy
- Provides the bulk and starchy body of the fritter.
- Flour
- Gives the batter structure so the fritters hold their shape while frying.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and help it set firm as it cooks.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, lightening the fritters as they fry.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter so it combines smoothly.
The step that matters
Frying in hot lard. The lard must be hot enough that the batter sets and browns quickly on contact. If it is too cool, the fritters absorb excess fat, turn greasy, and cook through unevenly.
“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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