Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Corn Bread
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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a mixing bowl, stir together cornmeal, wheat flour, white sugar, sour cream, eggs, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
Pour the batter into jelly molds.
Bake
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Wheat + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,225 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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 as the cornbread sets in the oven.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidity of sour cream to lift the batter and help it rise.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and tang, and its acidity activates the baking soda.
- Cornmeal
- Gives the cornbread its gritty texture and characteristic corn flavor.
- Wheat flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cornbread together.
- White sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown during baking.
The step that matters
Checking for doneness with a toothpick. Cornbread is done when a toothpick comes out clean and the top is golden. Pulling it too early leaves the centre wet and dense, while overbaking dries it out and makes it crumbly.
“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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