Why it works: Buttermilk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Johnny Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine cornmeal and flour with the buttermilk and sweet milk. Add the melted lard and mix well.
Dissolve the brown sugar, salt, and baking soda in a small amount of boiling water, then add to the mixture. Beat well again until smooth.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish and bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
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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Buttermilk + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Buttermilk + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + flourtop 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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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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 main structure and the coarse, grainy texture of the cake.
- Buttermilk
- Adds acidity and moisture, and reacts with baking soda to help the cake rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to produce gas, lifting the batter as it bakes.
- Lard
- Adds fat for tenderness and moisture in the crumb.
- Brown sugar or molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and color to the crust and crumb.
The step that matters
Beat the batter until smooth after adding the dissolved baking soda. Baking soda starts reacting with the buttermilk as soon as it is mixed in, so the batter should be combined and baked promptly to keep the gas that lifts the cake from escaping.
“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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