Why it works: Buttermilk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Waffles
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, beat the eggs and mix in the buttermilk.
Add baking soda and a pinch of salt.
Stir in melted lard.
Gradually add flour until the batter reaches a pourable consistency.
Cook and serve
Preheat your waffle iron and pour in the batter.
Cook until golden brown and serve warm.
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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Buttermilk + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttermilktop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,986 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Egg and flour 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
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as they set in the iron.
- Buttermilk
- Adds moisture and tang, and its acidity works with the baking soda.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to produce gas that lightens the waffles.
- Melted lard
- Adds fat for tenderness and helps the waffles brown and release from the iron.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that sets the waffle as it cooks.
The step that matters
Gradually add flour until the batter reaches a pourable consistency. Too much flour makes the batter thick and dense, so the waffles turn out tough and may not fill the iron. Adding it gradually lets you stop once the batter flows freely.
“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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