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 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients, sifting flour and baking powder together.
Beat the egg until very light, then add it and the milk to the dry ingredients.
Melt butter in the baking pan and add it to the mixture.
Bake
Pour batter into pan and bake for 20 to 30 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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Milk + buttertop 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
- Cornmeal
- Provides the gritty, corn-flavoured body that defines cornbread's texture.
- Flour
- Provides structure so the batter holds together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking, making the cornbread rise and turn light.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown as it bakes.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure and richness as it sets.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and hydrates the flour and cornmeal for a tender crumb.
The step that matters
Beating the egg until very light. Beating incorporates air that adds lift before baking, and a well-beaten egg blends more evenly into the batter. Under-beaten egg can leave the crumb 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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