Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Lemon Buns
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a warm oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
In a mortar, mix the ammonia with the milk until dissolved.
On a clean surface, weigh the flour and create a well in the center.
Add the sugar and butter into the well, then add the lemon extract.
Rub the ingredients together until smooth, then incorporate the eggs and the dissolved ammonia.
Knead into a smooth paste and divide into 3 oz. pieces.
Shape and bake
Flatten each piece, brush with milk, and coat with caster sugar.
Place the buns on greased baking tins and top each with a slice of lemon peel.
Bake in a warm oven at 350 °F (175 °C) for 1 hour.
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.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Butter and flour 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
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the dough, setting the crumb as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender texture and richer flavor in the buns.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the buns brown on the surface.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add richness and moisture to the crumb.
- Ammonia
- Acts as a leavening agent, releasing gas that helps the buns rise.
- Milk
- Adds moisture to the dough and helps the surface brown when brushed on.
The step that matters
Dissolving the ammonia in the milk. Ammonia must be fully dissolved before it is mixed into the dough so it disperses evenly. Uneven distribution leaves pockets that rise unevenly or taste harsh.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, flour, egg, milk):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, flour, egg, milk. 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.
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Lemon Custard64 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.