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 ↓
Good 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
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sour cream, and sugar.
In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and mix them into the dry ingredients.
Dissolve the baking soda in a little milk and add it to the mixture.
Fold in the beaten egg whites gently.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish and bake for 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.
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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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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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).
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
- White cornmeal
- Provides the main body and the characteristic corn flavor and grainy texture.
- All-purpose flour
- Adds structure that holds the crumb together after baking.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and tang, and keeps the crumb tender.
- Eggs
- Yolks add richness and binding; whipped whites lighten the batter and help it rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour cream to release gas, helping the cornbread rise.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown during baking.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whites hold air only if they are beaten stiff and folded in gently. Stirring them vigorously deflates the foam, so the bread bakes denser and rises less.
“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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