Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Jalapeno Cornbread
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the batter
Mix corn meal, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and paprika in a large mixing bowl.
Combine egg, milk, shortening and corn, then add to dry ingredients.
In a saucepan, melt butter and sauté onions, chiles and pimento until onions are tender, then add this to the rest of the mixture.
Mix well, but don't overdo it.
Add cheese and blend in.
Bake and serve
Butter an 8-inch square pan and pour mixture in.
Heat oven to 400°F and bake for 35 minutes.
Cool, then cut into serving pieces.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Cheddar Cheese | 1 oz (28g) | 113 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Corn | 1/2 cup kernels (82g) | 77 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Chili | 1 tsp (2.7g) | 8 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Pimento | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
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.
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
-
Sugar + evaporated milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Yellow corn meal
- Provides the coarse, gritty texture and characteristic corn flavor of the cornbread.
- Flour
- Gives the bread its structure as gluten and starch set during baking.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and helps it set into a firm, cohesive crumb.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking, lifting the batter so the bread rises and stays light.
- Cream-style corn
- Adds moisture and sweetness, keeping the crumb tender and moist.
- Cheddar cheese
- Adds richness and savory flavor, and melts to create pockets of fat in the crumb.
The step that matters
Mix well, but don't overdo it. Stirring too much develops gluten in the flour, which makes the cornbread tough and dense instead of tender. Mix only until the ingredients are combined.
“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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