Name: Nut Bread
Ingredients: 3 cups Graham flour; 5 teaspoons baking powder; 1½ teaspoons salt; ½ cup corn syrup; 1½ cups milk and water; 1 cup chopped nuts (not too fine) or 1 cup raisins, washed and floured

Why it works: Corn and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,955 recipes. Both carry hexanal, which smells green, grassy. The science ↓

Nut Bread

Ingredients

3 cups Graham flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons salt
½ cup corn syrup
1½ cups milk and water
1 cup chopped nuts (not too fine) or 1 cup raisins, washed and floured

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.

Make the batter

Mix together the Graham flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add the milk and water, corn syrup, and chopped nuts or raisins.
Pour the mixture into a greased loaf pan.

Rest and bake

Allow to stand for thirty minutes in a warm place.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for forty to forty-five minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Corn + milktop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,955 recipes

Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
Corn + nutstop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together104 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Flour + corntop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,165 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + nutstop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,180 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together78,219 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, 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

Graham flour: Forms the bulk of the loaf and gives it its structure and nutty, wholesome texture.
Baking powder: Releases gas in the batter so the loaf rises and becomes light.
Corn syrup: Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the crust brown during baking.
Milk and water: Hydrates the flour so the starches and batter form a cohesive dough.
Chopped nuts or raisins: Add texture, chew, and flavor throughout the loaf.