Why it works: Buttermilk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Johnny 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.
Prepare
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine buttermilk, sour cream or hot lard, sugar, egg, baking soda, and salt.
Add enough wheat flour and cornmeal to create a thin batter.
If using lard, heat it in the pan before adding it to the batter.
Mix thoroughly and pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake
Bake for 30 minutes or until well done.
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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Buttermilk + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Buttermilk + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Buttermilk + creamtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together674 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Buttermilk
- Adds moisture and tang, and its acidity reacts with the baking soda to help the cake rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in buttermilk to produce carbon dioxide, lifting the batter as it bakes.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure as it sets in the oven.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown during baking.
- Sour cream or hot lard
- Adds fat, which tenderizes the crumb and adds richness.
- Cornmeal
- Gives the cake its grainy texture and structure alongside the wheat flour.
The step that matters
Adding the baking soda and mixing thoroughly. Baking soda only works once it meets acid, so the batter should be mixed well and baked soon after, before the carbon dioxide escapes and the cake rises less.
“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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