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 ↓
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).
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, cream of tartar, and baking soda.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, milk, and melted butter until well combined.
Mix and bake
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool slightly before serving.
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 + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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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).
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 main structure that holds the crumb together as the batter sets.
- Cornmeal
- Gives the bread its characteristic grainy texture and corn flavor.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and help set the crumb as it bakes.
- Cream of tartar
- Reacts with baking soda to produce carbon dioxide, helping the cornbread rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic cream of tartar to release gas, lightening the batter.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown as it bakes.
The step that matters
Mixing the wet and dry ingredients. Stirring only until just combined keeps gluten development low, so the cornbread stays tender rather than tough. Overmixing also knocks out some of the gas produced by the leavening, reducing rise.
“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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