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
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine the flour, melted butter, salt, and egg yolks.
Gradually pour in the tepid water while mixing with a wooden spoon.
Work the batter until it is smooth and creamy.
Rest and finish
Set aside for about 1 hour.
Before using, gently fold in the whisked egg whites 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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Butter + eggtop 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
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the structure of the batter as its gluten network sets during cooking.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender texture.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help bind the batter smoothly.
- Egg whites
- Whisked and folded in, they add air for lightness.
The step that matters
Gently folding in the whisked egg whites. Whisked egg whites trap air that gives the batter lift. Stirring hard or over-mixing deflates the foam, so the batter turns dense instead of light and airy.
“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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