French Batter for Frying Vegetables

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.

1. Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together106,462 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

2. Brandy + eggtop 17% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together7,340 recipes

   Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).

3. Flour + olivetop 19% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together16,871 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Flour + brandytop 25% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together4,181 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. 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

What each ingredient does

All-purpose flour

Forms the main structure of the batter, setting as it cooks and coating the vegetables.

Egg white

Beaten to a froth and folded in, it lightens the batter and makes it crisp and airy when fried.

Olive oil

Adds fat that helps the batter fry crisp and tender rather than dry.

French brandy

Adds a small amount of alcohol that evaporates in hot oil, helping the coating turn crisp.

The step that matters