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 400°F (200°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 the dry mix
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, mix ½ cup of flour and the corn meal with the baking powder.
Make the batter
In another bowl, cream together the butter, eggs, and sugar.
Add the remaining flour and corn meal to the butter mixture.
Combine the two mixtures and add enough milk to create a pourable batter.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
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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Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Flour + buttertop 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).
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Corn + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Flour and butter 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
- Corn meal
- Provides the cornbread's characteristic grainy texture and flavor.
- All-purpose flour
- Gives structure so the bread holds together after baking.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and moisture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, making the cornbread rise.
The step that matters
Combine the two mixtures and add enough milk to create a pourable batter. Stir only until the batter is evenly combined. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour, which toughens the texture. Baking powder starts releasing gas once it is wet, so the batter should go into the oven promptly to keep the rise.
“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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