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 ↓
Ypsilanti Egg Rolls
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Beat the egg whites and yolks separately.
Combine the milk and flour, then add the beaten eggs.
Cook and serve
Heat a well-greased frying pan over medium heat.
Pour a small amount of the mixture into the pan and cook until set.
Roll the cooked egg mixture like an omelet and place on a platter.
Serve hot, optionally with sugar.
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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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttertop 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
- Eggs
- Provide the main structure, setting into a thin, tender sheet when cooked.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softness, keeping the thin egg sheet tender rather than dry.
- Flour
- Thickens the batter slightly so it holds together when poured and rolled.
The step that matters
Cooking the thin layer until set. Too much heat or too thick a pour can brown or toughen the egg before it sets, making it hard to roll. A small amount over medium heat sets it gently and evenly.
“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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