Why it works: Butter and milk 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 ↓
Johnny Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 350°F (175°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 your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, white flour, sugar, and salt.
Melt the butter and add it to the dry ingredients.
Beat the egg and mix it into the bowl.
Dissolve the baking soda in the sour milk and add it to the mixture.
Stir until well combined and pour into a greased baking dish.
Bake
Bake for 30-40 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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Butter + milktop 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 + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 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
- Yellow cornmeal
- Provides the main body and coarse, grainy texture of the cake.
- White flour
- Adds structure so the cake holds together after baking.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown in the oven.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a rich flavor.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure and moisture.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the sour milk to produce gas that makes the cake rise.
The step that matters
Dissolve the baking soda in the sour milk and add it to the mixture.. Baking soda needs an acid, such as the sour milk, to release carbon dioxide. If it is not fully dissolved and mixed in promptly, the leavening is uneven and the cake may rise poorly or have pockets. Bake soon after mixing so the gas is not lost.
“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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