Name: French Fritter Batter , No. 1
Ingredients: 1 heaping cup all-purpose flour; 2 egg yolks; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1-2 tablespoons brandy, wine, or lemon juice; water (as needed); 2 egg whites

Why it works: Flour and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

French Fritter Batter , No. 1

Ingredients

Directions

In a bowl, combine the flour, egg yolks, olive oil, and brandy (or wine or lemon juice).
Stir in enough water to achieve the thickness of ordinary batter.
Let the batter rest for a day or up to a week for better results.
When ready to cook, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold them into the batter.

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.

Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Egg + brandytop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,340 recipes

Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
Flour + olivetop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together16,871 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + brandytop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,181 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Olive + brandytop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together340 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-hex-3-en-1-ol (freshly cut grass green and herbaceous notes).

Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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

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Boiled Frosting69 recipes

Citron Cake68 recipes

Scotch Cake63 recipes

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French Fritter Batter , No. 1