Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓
Doughnuts
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 375°F (190°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
In another bowl, beat the egg, then add milk and melted butter.
Combine wet and dry ingredients until just mixed.
Fry and drain
Heat oil in a deep pan to 375°F (190°C).
Drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil and fry until golden brown.
Remove and drain on paper towels.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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 + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure of the batter once it is set by frying.
- Egg
- Adds structure and richness, helping the batter hold together while it cooks.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas that makes the doughnuts rise and turn light and puffy.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a rich flavor in the finished doughnut.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown during frying.
The step that matters
Frying the batter in hot oil. Oil that is too cool lets the batter soak up grease and turn heavy, while oil that is too hot browns the outside before the center cooks. Holding the oil near 375°F gives a golden exterior and a cooked interior.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, egg, milk, butter):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Jalapenofits less well
- Capersfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, egg, milk, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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