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 ↓
Corn Bread. No. 1
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.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar if using.
In another bowl, cream the butter (or oil and butter) and add the beaten eggs and milk.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients until just mixed.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Bake for 30 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.
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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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).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 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
- Cornmeal
- Provides the coarse, grainy texture and the characteristic corn flavor of the bread.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides structure, holding the bread together as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set in the oven.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and rich flavor, and helps the crumb brown.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, causing the bread to rise and become light.
- Milk
- Hydrates the dry ingredients and adds moisture and tenderness to the crumb.
The step that matters
Combine the wet and dry ingredients until just mixed. Stirring only until the ingredients are combined keeps gluten development limited, so the cornbread stays tender rather than tough and dense. Lumps are acceptable.
“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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