Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Frying Batter
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, combine the flour and salt.
Gradually add the tepid water and salad oil or clarified butter, mixing until smooth.
If time allows, let the batter rest for about 1 hour.
Just before using, gently fold in the stiffly whisked egg whites.
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 + 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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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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
- Forms the main structure of the batter, setting into a crisp coating when fried.
- Egg whites
- Whisked stiff and folded in, they lighten the batter and add airiness to the coating.
- Salad oil or clarified butter
- Adds fat that keeps the coating tender and helps it brown and crisp.
- Tepid water
- Hydrates the flour to form the batter, with its moderate warmth helping it blend smoothly.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Stiffly whisked whites trap air that gives the batter lift. Overmixing or stirring vigorously deflates them, leaving a dense, heavy coating. Fold gently, just before frying.
“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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