Why it works: Butter and milk 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 ↓
Corn Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix molasses, sugar, and butter until well combined.
Add the milk and sweet milk, and mix thoroughly.
In another bowl, combine corn meal, flour, baking powder, and salt.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until smooth.
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Bake and serve
Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool slightly before serving.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Corn + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture and a deep flavor with a darker color.
- Corn meal
- Provides the main structure and the characteristic grainy texture of the cornbread.
- Flour
- Gives the batter structure so the cornbread holds together when sliced.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cornbread rises and becomes lighter.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender crumb.
- Milk
- Hydrates the dry ingredients so the batter forms and bakes through.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until smooth.. Adding dry ingredients gradually and stirring only until smooth keeps the batter from lumping and limits gluten development, which would otherwise make the cornbread tough and dense.
“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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