Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Corn Cake. No. 2
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.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, combine the Indian meal, flour, molasses, sour milk, baking soda, and salt, and mix until well combined.
Pour the batter into a greased baking sheet.
Bake
Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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 + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + milktop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,243 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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
- Indian meal
- Provides the corn base and the coarse, grainy texture of the cake.
- Flour
- Adds structure so the cake holds its shape after baking.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and a deep color as it browns.
- Sour milk
- Supplies liquid and acidity that reacts with the baking soda.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to produce gas that lifts the cake.
The step that matters
Judging doneness with the toothpick test. Corn-based batters are dense and can look set on top while the center is still wet. Checking the center with a toothpick helps ensure the structure has set fully before the cake cools and sinks.
“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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