Name: Corn Meal Batter Cakes
Ingredients: one pint corn-meal; a pint of sour milfc; three quarters of a pint of sour milfc; one small tea-spoonful of soda iu the milk; 55 one egg; one tea-spoonful of flour added to the meal is an improvement; salt

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 ↓

Corn Meal Batter Cakes

Ingredients

one pint corn-meal
a pint of sour milfc
three quarters of a pint of sour milfc
one small tea-spoonful of soda iu the milk
55 one egg
one tea-spoonful of flour added to the meal is an improvement
salt

Directions

Make the batter

Combine one pint cornmeal, three quarters pint sour milk, and one small teaspoon soda in the milk, stirring until foamy.
Add one egg (or two) and salt to taste.
Add about one teaspoon flour to the batter.

Cook

Heat a griddle until hot and grease it well.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

731Calories

27 gProtein

14 gFat

120 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Vehling, Joseph Dommers, 1879-1950. fmo. 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. See the original page.

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).
Tea + milktop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together738 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
Corn + teatop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together89 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Corn + flourtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,165 recipes

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

Smell alikelow

Cooked together78,219 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, 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

Cornmeal (in the method): Forms the main structure and gives the cakes their coarse, grainy texture.
Sour milk: Supplies the liquid and its acidity reacts with the soda to aid rising.
Soda: Reacts with the sour milk's acid to release gas, lightening the batter.
Egg: Binds the batter and adds structure and richness to the cakes.
Flour: Adds gluten-forming structure so the cakes hold together better.

The step that matters

Heat the griddle until hot and grease it well. A griddle that is too cool lets the batter spread and stick, while one that is too hot browns the outside before the inside sets. Even greasing prevents sticking and helps the cakes release cleanly.

“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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Corn Meal Batter Cakes