Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Griddle Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Mix and sift the flour, salt, and baking soda.
Add the sour milk and the beaten egg.
Cook and serve
Drop spoonfuls onto a greased hot griddle.
Cook until puffed, full of bubbles, and edges are cooked.
Turn and cook the other side.
Serve with butter and maple syrup.
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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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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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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 cakes together as they cook.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in sour milk to produce gas that makes the cakes rise.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds tenderness and a slight tang.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds richness and structure to the cakes.
The step that matters
Cook until puffed, full of bubbles, and edges are cooked. Bubbles forming on the surface show the leavening gas has expanded and the starches have set. Flipping before this point can deflate the cakes and leave the centers raw and gummy.
“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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