Why it works: Egg and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Corn Beead
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Make the batter
In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks with the lard and butter mixture.
Add the buttermilk, baking soda, and salt to the yolk mixture.
Gradually stir in cornmeal until the batter is as stiff as pound cake.
Fold in the beaten egg whites gently.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
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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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + buttermilktop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,674 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Egg + buttermilktop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,986 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Yolks add richness and the whites, beaten stiff, lighten the batter for a tender crumb.
- Buttermilk
- Adds moisture and acidity that reacts with baking soda to help the cake rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to release gas, leavening the batter.
- Cornmeal
- Forms the structure of the cake and sets as it bakes.
- Lard and butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and flavor and helps browning.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Whites hold air from whipping, which gives lift. Stirring them in vigorously knocks that air out, so fold gently with a light hand to keep the batter 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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