Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Frying Batter
Ingredients
Directions
Place the flour in a bowl.
Drop the yolk of the egg in the center and add the oil.
Gradually add the tepid water while mixing.
Beat well, then fold in the whipped egg white until combined.
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 + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Flour and butter 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
- Provides the starch and gluten network that gives the batter body and structure when fried.
- Egg
- Adds structure and richness, and the whipped white lightens the batter for a tender coating.
- Salad oil or melted butter
- Adds fat that helps the coating fry crisp and carries flavour.
- Tepid water
- Supplies the liquid that hydrates the flour and thins the batter to a smooth, pourable consistency.
The step that matters
Gradually add the tepid water while mixing. Adding the liquid slowly while mixing lets the flour hydrate evenly, which prevents lumps and gives a smooth batter that coats food evenly.
“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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