Why it works: Milk and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Corn 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. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, combine sour milk, cornmeal, baking soda, lard, eggs, and salt, then mix until well combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Bake for 25-30 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.
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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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sour milk
- Supplies moisture and acid that reacts with baking soda to help the cornbread rise.
- Cornmeal
- Provides the main body and grainy texture of the cornbread.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in sour milk to produce gas that lifts the batter.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as they set in the oven.
- Lard
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and helps the surface brown.
The step that matters
Bake the batter promptly after mixing. Baking soda starts reacting with the sour milk as soon as they are combined. Waiting too long before baking lets some of that lift escape, so the cornbread may bake up flatter and denser.
“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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