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 ↓
Johnny Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, mix and sift the corn meal, flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt together twice.
Gradually add the milk to the dry ingredients, mixing well. Beat the mixture thoroughly until smooth.
Bake and serve
Pour the batter into a well-greased shallow tin.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown.
Serve with coconut butter and honey.
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.
-
Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
-
Corn + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 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
- Corn meal
- Provides the grainy texture and classic flavour that define the cake.
- All-purpose flour
- Gives the batter structure so it holds together after baking.
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Reacts with acidic ingredients to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Baking powder
- Adds additional leavening so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown during baking.
- Milk
- Hydrates the dry ingredients to form a smooth batter and adds moisture.
The step that matters
Beating the batter until smooth. Mixing the milk in gradually and beating well distributes the liquid evenly and develops the gluten in the flour, giving a smooth batter that bakes evenly. Under-mixing can leave lumps of dry flour or meal, while the leavening gas is released as soon as the wet and dry ingredients meet, so the batter should go into the oven without delay.
“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.
More johnny cake recipes
You might also like
Corn Cake90 recipes
Corn Starch Cake89 recipes
Corn Cakes22 recipes
Green Corn Pudding14 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.