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 Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, stir the milk into the cornmeal until there are no lumps.
Add the beaten eggs and baking soda, mixing well.
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Bake
Bake for 1 hour 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
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as they set during baking.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the batter's acidity to produce gas that helps it rise.
- Cornmeal
- Forms the body of the cake, setting into a firm, crumbly texture.
- Rich milk
- Hydrates the cornmeal and adds moisture and richness to the batter.
The step that matters
Stir the milk into the cornmeal until there are no lumps. Cornmeal hydrates slowly, so dry pockets left in the batter can stay gritty and uneven after baking. Thorough mixing at the start gives the batter an even moisture level before the eggs and baking soda are added.
“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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