Johnny Cake

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 + wheattop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,418 recipes

   Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

2. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together43,450 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

3. Flour + wheattop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,373 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

   Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

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

Indian meal

Provides the main body and grainy structure of the cakes.

Wheat flour

Adds structure and helps the batter hold its shape while frying.

Eggs

Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set.

Sweet milk

Adds moisture and softness to the stiff batter.

Sugar

Adds sweetness and helps the outside brown during frying.

Cream of tartar

An acid that reacts with the soda to help the batter rise.

The step that matters