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 ↓
Cornmeal Muffins
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 bowl, stir together the egg and sugar.
Add the melted butter and sweet milk, mixing well.
Sift the baking soda and cream of tartar into the flour, then add to the mixture.
Stir in the cornmeal until just combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the muffins together.
- Cornmeal
- Gives the muffins their coarse texture and mild corn flavor.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure as it sets in the oven.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the batter to produce gas that makes the muffins rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Acts as an acid that works with the baking soda to help the muffins rise.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and richness in the crumb.
The step that matters
Stir in the cornmeal until just combined. Overmixing once the flour is added develops gluten, which makes muffins tough and dense. Mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear keeps the crumb tender.
“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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