Why it works: Flour and turmeric are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,637 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
To Make Mustard
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, combine wheat flour and turmeric until well mixed.
Gradually blend in milk or cream until you reach a smooth consistency.
Add a small amount of coarse sea salt to taste.
For a spicier mustard, substitute vinegar or horseradish vinegar for the milk.
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 + turmerictop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,637 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Wheat + milktop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Wheat + turmerictop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together92 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
Swap the turmeric
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (wheat, flour, milk, vinegar):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Turmericthe original
- Jalapenofits about as well
- Nutmegfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against wheat, flour, milk, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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