Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Johnny Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, beat the egg and mix in the sugar and salt.
Add the milk, cream of tartar, and baking soda; stir well.
Gradually add the cornmeal and flour to form a batter.
Pour the batter into a shallow pan and bake for 20-25 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.
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Milk and flour 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
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds richness and structure as it sets in the oven.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidic component that reacts with baking soda to produce gas, helping the cake rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic cream of tartar to release carbon dioxide, leavening the batter.
- Cornmeal
- Provides the coarse, crumbly texture and characteristic flavor of the cake.
- All-purpose flour
- Supplies gluten-forming proteins and starch that give the cake its structure.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown during baking.
The step that matters
Adding the leavening to the milk. Baking soda and cream of tartar must react to produce gas, so the batter should be mixed promptly and baked soon after the leaveners are combined, before the bubbles escape.
“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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