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 ↓
Pan Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the batter
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
Beat the egg.
Add the milk and melted butter.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Beat until smooth.
Cook the pancakes
Pour the batter from the end of a spoon onto a hot, well-greased griddle.
When bubbles form on the surface, flip the pancakes.
Brown the other side.
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 + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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 + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the pancake together as it sets.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and helps it set firm while adding richness.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas that makes the pancakes rise and turn light and airy.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flour and gives the batter its liquid and tender texture.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for flavor and a softer, more tender crumb.
The step that matters
Flip when bubbles form on the surface. Bubbles appear as the batter sets and gas escapes through it. Flipping earlier tears the pancake, while waiting too long can dry it out and over-brown the first side.
“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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