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 ↓
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.
Prepare
Pour the boiling water over the cornmeal and let it cool.
Sift the baking powder, salt, and flour together.
Beat the egg yolks until light, then add to the cornmeal.
Make the batter
Stir in the milk, flour, and melted butter to form a smooth batter.
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and gently fold into the mixture.
Bake
Pour into a well-greased shallow pan and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 25 minutes.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 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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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Butter and flour 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 corn flavor and the main structure of the bread.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the bread rises and becomes light.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, and the whipped whites lighten the batter.
- All-purpose flour
- Adds gluten-based structure that holds the crumb together.
- Milk
- Hydrates the dry ingredients and adds moisture and tenderness.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for tenderness, moisture, and rich flavor.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whipped egg whites trap air that lifts the batter. Overmixing or stirring them in vigorously knocks out that air, leaving a denser, flatter cornbread.
“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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