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 moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, mix corn meal, flour, baking powder, and salt.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks, then add sweet milk, melted butter, and sugar.
Make and bake the batter
Combine the wet and dry ingredients, then gently fold in the egg whites.
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
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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Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Corn + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Corn + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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
- Corn meal
- Forms the bulk of the structure and gives cornbread its characteristic grainy texture.
- All-purpose flour
- Adds gluten-based structure that helps the bread hold its shape.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, and the whipped whites lighten the batter.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping it rise and become light.
- Sweet milk
- Provides moisture and hydrates the dry ingredients into a batter.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness, moisture, and rich flavor.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whipped whites hold air that makes the cornbread light. Stirring vigorously or overmixing deflates them, leaving a dense, heavy crumb, so fold gently until just combined.
“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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