Why it works: Wheat and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,418 recipes. Both carry (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, melon. The science ↓
Graham Gems
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, mix the graham flour, wheat flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
In another bowl, beat the eggs and melt the butter.
Make and bake the batter
Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients.
Add milk gradually until the batter can drop from a spoon.
Pour the batter into gem pans.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden.
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.
-
Wheat + milktop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Flour + wheattop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Wheat + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,002 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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
- Graham flour
- Provides the coarse, hearty texture and nutty flavour that defines the gems.
- Wheat flour
- Adds gluten structure so the gems hold their shape while baking.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the heat, lifting the batter so the gems rise and turn light.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and set during baking, giving the gems structure and richness.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tender crumb and rich flavour, and helps browning.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the gems brown to a golden colour.
The step that matters
Adding the milk. Milk should be added gradually so the batter reaches a dropping consistency. Too much liquid makes the batter thin and the gems spread and bake dense rather than rising well.
“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.
More graham gems recipes
You might also like
Wheat Muffins48 recipes
Whole Wheat Muffins12 recipes
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.