Why it works: Buttermilk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Buttermilk Biscuit
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the dough
In a bowl, combine buttermilk, salt, and shortening.
Stir in enough flour to form a batter.
Dissolve baking soda in a small amount of water and add to the mixture.
Mix until soft, then roll out the dough.
Shape and bake
Cut into round cakes and place on a baking sheet.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes.
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.
-
Buttermilk + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Buttermilk or sour milk
- Provides acidity that reacts with baking soda to help the biscuits rise.
- Shortening
- Adds fat that keeps the biscuits tender and separates the dough into flaky layers.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the buttermilk to release gas, helping the biscuits rise.
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the dough as it is mixed and rolled.
The step that matters
Dissolve baking soda in a small amount of water and add to the mixture.. Baking soda must be evenly dispersed so it reacts with the acid in the buttermilk throughout the dough. Clumps can leave bitter spots and uneven rising.
“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
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 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.