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 ↓
Johnnie Cake
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.
Make the batter
Combine the wheat flour, corn meal, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl.
Add the beaten eggs and butter or lard, then mix until a stiff batter forms.
Gradually add milk or water to achieve the desired consistency.
Bake
Pour the batter into greased pans, filling them about ¾ inch thick.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) 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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Wheat + corntop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together465 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Wheat + milktop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Corn + milktop 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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Wheat flour
- Provides the main structure as gluten forms when mixed with liquid and eggs.
- Corn meal
- Adds the coarse, grainy texture and characteristic corn flavor.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter and oven heat, making the bread rise and turn light.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set in the oven.
- Butter or lard
- Adds fat for tenderness and flavor, and helps the crumb feel moist.
The step that matters
Gradually add milk or water. Adding liquid slowly lets you judge the batter's consistency, since too much liquid thins the batter and weakens its rise, while too little leaves the cornbread dry and 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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