Why it works: Flour and buttermilk 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 ↓
Dropped Scones
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, and tartaric acid.
Gradually add the buttermilk, beating well for a few minutes.
Cook the scones
Preheat a griddle and grease it with suet or bacon rind.
Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the griddle, shaping them into neat rounds.
When bubbles form on top, flip the scones.
Cook until both sides are light brown; do not flip them again.
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 + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Buttermilk + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the batter together as the scones set.
- Buttermilk
- Adds moisture and acidity that react with the baking soda to lift the batter.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the buttermilk and tartaric acid to produce gas for rising.
- Tartaric acid
- Acidifies the batter so the baking soda releases gas for a lighter texture.
- Soft sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the scones brown on the griddle.
The step that matters
Flipping the scones. Bubbles forming on top signal that the bottom is set and the gas has partly escaped. Flipping earlier can deflate the rounds, while a single flip keeps them rising and browning 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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