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 ↓
Scones
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the dough
Mix the cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda with the flour.
Rub in the lard, then add the sugar, salt, and currants.
Make a hollow in the center and pour in enough buttermilk to form a dough.
Mix thoroughly and shape the dough into squares.
Bake and serve
Place on a baking sheet, brush with beaten egg, and bake until golden.
Serve hot or cold.
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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Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Cream + buttermilktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together674 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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 scones together as they bake.
- Cream of tartar
- Reacts with bicarbonate of soda to produce carbon dioxide, helping the scones rise.
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Reacts with the acid in the cream of tartar and buttermilk to produce gas for lift.
- Lard
- Coats flour particles to tenderise the crumb and add richness.
- Buttermilk
- Moistens the flour to form the dough and adds acidity that activates the leavening.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the scones brown when baked.
The step that matters
Shape the dough gently. Overworking the dough develops gluten and makes scones tough. Mix only until the dough just comes together, so the crumb stays tender.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, cream, sugar, buttermilk, egg):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Lemonfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, cream, sugar, buttermilk, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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