Why it works: Apple and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,884 recipes. Both carry isoamyl acetate, which smells banana, fruity. The science ↓
Egg Bread
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, combine cornmeal, eggs, lard, and salt.
Mix in apple vinegar and enough boiling water to create a batter.
Stir in baking soda until well combined.
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.
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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Apple + vinegartop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,884 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
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Egg + appletop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,461 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Egg + vinegartop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,922 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and vinegar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,922 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
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, vinegar):
- Currantfits better
- Strawberryfits better
- Raspberryfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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