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 quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream together the sugar and butter.
Add the well-beaten eggs, salt, and sweet milk; mix well.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, and baking powder.
Combine the dry ingredients with the wet mixture.
Bake
Butter muffin pans and fill them half full.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until golden.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 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
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness to the crumb.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cornbread rises and turns light.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cornbread together as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and flavor, and helps the sugar cream into the batter.
- Cornmeal
- Gives the cornbread its characteristic grainy texture and corn flavor.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps browning on the crust as it bakes.
The step that matters
Combine the dry ingredients with the wet mixture. Mixing too vigorously once the flour is added develops gluten and makes the cornbread tough. Stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened, since baking powder starts releasing gas as soon as it meets liquid.
“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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