Why it works: Wheat and corn match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 465 recipes. Both carry hexanal, which smells green, grassy. 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.
Mix the batter
In a large bowl, combine the egg, molasses or sugar, sour milk, sweet milk, wheat flour, corn meal, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a 2-quart basin.
Steam and bake
Steam for 1 hour.
Bake in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 1 hour.
Serve
Serve warm for dinner or cold with butter or milk.
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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Wheat + corntop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together465 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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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 + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + corntop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 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
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure as it sets.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the sour milk to produce gas that helps the bread rise.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds tenderness.
- Wheat flour
- Provides gluten and structure to hold the bread together.
- Corn meal
- Gives the bread its characteristic body, texture and flavor.
- Molasses or sugar
- Adds sweetness, moisture and browning.
The step that matters
Steaming before baking. Steaming first keeps the dense batter moist and lets it set through gently before dry oven heat browns the crust. Skipping the steam or rushing it can leave the centre gummy or dry.
“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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