Why it works: Butter and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Corn Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
Mix and bake
In a bowl, combine cornmeal, melted butter, buttermilk, beaten eggs, salt, and baking soda. Mix until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish.
Bake for ample time until the bread has risen and is lightly browned.
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 + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + buttermilktop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,674 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Buttermilk + eggtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,986 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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 as they set during baking.
- Buttermilk
- Adds moisture and acidity that reacts with the baking soda to lift the batter.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to produce gas that makes the bread rise.
- Cornmeal
- Forms the main body of the bread, giving it its grainy texture and structure.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a richer flavor.
The step that matters
Bake until risen and lightly browned. Baking soda reacts with buttermilk quickly, so the batter should go into the oven promptly after mixing. The bread is done when it has risen and set, and it is lightly browned on top. Underbaking leaves a dense, gummy center, while overbaking dries it out.
“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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