Amish Cornbread

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.

1. Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together78,219 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

2. Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together92,116 recipes

   Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

3. Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together106,462 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together88,785 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

5. Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together77,875 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

Eggs

Bind the batter and add structure and moisture as they set in the oven.

Milk

Adds moisture and hydrates the cornmeal and flour so the crumb stays soft.

Flour

Provides gluten-based structure that holds the cornbread together.

Cornmeal

Gives the cornbread its characteristic grainy texture and corn flavor.

Baking powder

Releases gas during baking so the cornbread rises and becomes light.

Oil

Adds fat that keeps the crumb tender and moist.

The step that matters