Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Graham Flour Griddle Cakes- Without Eggs
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, combine the Graham flour and sour milk to make a batter.
Stir in the salt, molasses, and baking soda until well mixed.
Cook on a hot griddle until golden brown on both sides.
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 + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + molassestop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,243 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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
- Graham flour
- Provides the bulk and the coarse, nutty structure of the batter.
- Sour milk
- Adds moisture and acidity that reacts with the baking soda to lift the cakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the sour milk to produce gas that makes the cakes rise.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color, and a deeper flavor that aids browning.
The step that matters
Cook on a hot griddle until golden brown on both sides. If the griddle is not hot enough, the cakes spread and dry out before the surface sets. Too hot, and the outside browns before the centre cooks through. Baking soda gas is also released quickly, so batter should be cooked soon after mixing.
“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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