Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Scones
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
In a bowl, combine the flour.
On a plate, mix the baking soda and cream of tartar until smooth.
In another bowl, beat the egg and add the milk.
Add the sugar, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar to the flour.
Mix well, then moisten with the egg and milk mixture.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently.
Shape and bake
Roll out to 1 inch thick, cut into four pieces, and place on a floured baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes in a hot oven (400°F/200°C).
Cool on a wire rack.
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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
- Forms the structure of the dough once moistened and kneaded.
- Egg
- Binds the dough and adds richness and structure.
- Milk
- Moistens the dough so the flour hydrates and the dough holds together.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in cream of tartar to produce gas that helps the scones rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Provides acidity that reacts with baking soda, producing gas for lift.
The step that matters
Mixing the dough gently. Overworking flour develops gluten, which makes scones tough. Mixing and kneading only until the dough comes together keeps them tender.
“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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