Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓
Oorn Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt thoroughly.
In another bowl, beat the eggs and then add the milk and melted butter.
Make the batter
Combine the wet and dry ingredients until just mixed.
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Bake
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
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.
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 + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + buttertop 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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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the gluten network that gives the cornbread its structure.
- Cornmeal
- Gives the bread its coarse texture and corn flavor.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as they set in the oven.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and hydrates the flour and cornmeal.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and richness in the crumb.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas that makes the cornbread rise and become light.
The step that matters
Combine the wet and dry ingredients until just mixed.. Overmixing develops too much gluten from the flour, which makes the cornbread tough and dense. Stop once no dry streaks remain.
“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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