Why it works: Milk and wheat are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,418 recipes. Both carry (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, melon. The science ↓
New England Corn Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Scald the milk and gradually pour it over the cornmeal.
When cool, add the melted butter, salt, and yeast. Do this at night.
In the morning, beat the mixture thoroughly.
Add the beaten eggs and dissolve the baking soda in the water before mixing it in.
Rise and bake
Pour the mixture into buttered deep baking dishes.
Let it stand for 15 minutes to rise again.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 to 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 + wheattop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Wheat + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,002 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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
- Cornmeal
- Forms the bulk of the cake and gives it its coarse, hearty texture.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness to the crumb.
- Yeast
- Produces gas that makes the batter rise and gives a light, airy crumb.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softens the cornmeal so it hydrates into a batter.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with acid in the batter to create gas that helps it rise further.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness, tenderness and flavour.
The step that matters
Dissolving the baking soda in water before mixing. Baking soda needs to be fully dissolved so it disperses evenly; lumps leave pockets of bitter flavour and uneven rising in the finished cake.
“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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