Why it works: Flour and buttermilk 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
Sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
Beat the eggs until light, then add the buttermilk and melted lard.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.
If the batter is too thick, add more buttermilk.
Cook and serve
Preheat and grease the waffle iron with fat.
Pour the batter into the hot waffle iron.
Cook until golden brown on both sides.
Serve immediately on a hot plate.
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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Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 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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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Buttermilk + buttertop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,674 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the waffle together as it sets.
- Cornmeal
- Adds a slightly crisp, grainy texture to the finished waffle.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to produce gas that lightens the batter and helps it rise.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, and help bind the batter while lightening its texture.
- Buttermilk
- Adds moisture and tang, and its acidity activates the baking soda.
- Lard
- Adds fat for tenderness and richness, and helps the waffle brown and release from the iron.
The step that matters
Stir the wet into the dry until just combined. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour, making the waffles tough and dense. Stopping once the batter is just combined keeps them tender and light.
“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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