Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓
Soda Crullers
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Mix cream of tartar, sugar, milk or water, butter, egg, and baking soda until well combined.
Heat lard in a frying pan.
Fry and serve
Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot lard and fry until golden brown on both sides.
Remove and drain on paper towels before serving.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure and richness to the crullers.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the cream of tartar to produce gas that lightens the batter and helps it rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the batter so it reacts with the baking soda, aiding rise and tenderness.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and flavor in the dough.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the crullers and helps them brown during frying.
The step that matters
Frying until golden brown on both sides. The batter needs enough time in hot lard to cook through, while too much heat browns the outside before the centre sets. Keeping the lard at a steady temperature gives an even golden crust and a fully cooked interior.
“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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