Why it works: Flour and milk 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 very quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the flour, eggs, salt, and enough milk to achieve a soft custard consistency.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture around the meat in a baking dish.
Bake in a very hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 30 minutes.
Cut into squares.
Serve around the meat.
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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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 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 + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk 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
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the batter that puffs and sets as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and help it rise and set into a firm, hollow shape.
- Milk
- Thins the batter to a pourable custard that bakes into a tender, light texture.
The step that matters
Heating the oven before baking. A very hot oven creates the sudden steam and heat needed for the batter to rise sharply. A cool oven gives a flat, dense result.
“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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