Why it works: Milk and flour 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 ↓
Yorkshire Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Beat the eggs together until light.
Add the salt and milk to the eggs.
Pour in half of the flour and mix until smooth.
Add the remaining milk and mix well.
Bake and serve
Remove the roast beef from the roasting pan and pour off the gravy, leaving some drippings.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 20 minutes or more, depending on size.
Serve under the roast beef or cut into pieces and serve around the beef.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and flour 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
- Eggs
- Set the batter's structure and help it rise and puff during baking.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the risen batter after baking.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and thins the batter so it bakes into a tender, airy pudding.
The step that matters
Pour the batter into the pan. The batter must go into the hot pan with the drippings. The hot fat sears the batter on contact, helping it puff up instead of spreading flat.
“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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