Why it works: Milk and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,399 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Corn Cake
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.
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine sour milk and baking soda, and beat well.
Stir in cornmeal and cream of tartar until mixed.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sour milk
- Its acidity reacts with the baking soda to produce carbon dioxide, which lifts the batter.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the sour milk to release gas, helping the cornbread rise.
- Cornmeal
- Provides the bulk and structure of the bread, along with its corn flavor and crumb.
- Cream of tartar
- Acts as an additional acid that supports the leavening reaction and helps stabilize the batter.
The step that matters
Combine the sour milk and baking soda. The baking soda must meet acid right away to release carbon dioxide. Beating the mixture well and then working quickly once the cornmeal and cream of tartar go in helps keep the gas in the batter so the cornbread rises well in the oven.
“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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