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 ↓
Delicious Batter Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Mix the batter
Mix the cornmeal with part of the liquid.
Add the well-beaten egg, then the baking powder, lard, and the remaining liquid and salt.
Bake
Pour into a well-greased pan.
Bake for 30 minutes at 400°F (200°C).
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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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
- White cornmeal
- Provides the main body and corn flavour of the bread.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as the bread sets.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cornbread rises and becomes lighter.
- Melted lard
- Adds fat for tenderness and a rich, moist crumb.
- Cold water or sweet milk
- Hydrates the cornmeal so it forms a spreadable batter.
The step that matters
Pour into a well-greased pan. Cornbread batter is fragile and can stick badly when baked. A well-greased pan lets the bread release cleanly and helps the crust brown evenly.
“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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