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 Meal Griddle Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Combine cornmeal, melted butter, salt, eggs, and sugar in a bowl.
Add enough sour milk to achieve a batter consistency.
If using, add a small amount of saleratus (baking soda) and mix well.
Cook
Cook on a hot griddle until golden brown on both sides.
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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Butter + milktop 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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Corn + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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 pancake and gives it its grainy, hearty texture.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as the pancakes set.
- Sour milk
- Provides the liquid that hydrates the cornmeal and gives a slightly tangy flavor.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidity of sour milk to produce gas that helps the pancakes rise.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and helps the surface brown on the griddle.
The step that matters
Cook on a hot griddle until golden brown on both sides. A properly hot griddle sets the outside quickly and browns it through the Maillard reaction, while a cool surface lets the pancakes soak up fat and turn pale and soggy. Flip only once the edges look set so the centre holds together.
“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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