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 the batter
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs and then add the sweet milk and melted butter.
Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Bake and serve
Pour the batter into a well‑greased broad, shallow pan.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Cut into square pieces, holding the knife perpendicularly to avoid making the bread heavy.
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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Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + corntop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Corn + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cornbread together as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set in the oven.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cornbread rises and becomes light.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and flavour.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown.
- Corn meal
- Gives the cornbread its characteristic texture and corn flavour.
The step that matters
Combining the wet and dry ingredients. Mixing only until just combined keeps the batter tender. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour, which makes the cornbread tough and dense.
“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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