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
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 the batter
In a bowl, combine the boiled rice with butter.
Add the egg yolks, cornmeal, and enough milk to achieve a batter-like consistency.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold in the yeast powder.
Gently mix the egg whites into the cornmeal mixture.
Bake
Pour the batter into earthen or muffin pans, ensuring it's not too thin.
Bake in a quick oven at 400°F (200°C) until golden.
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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Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Rice + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,645 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Egg + milktop 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
- Eggs
- Whites trapped as foam lift the batter and give the cornbread a light, airy crumb.
- Royal yeast powder
- Leavens the batter so it rises and becomes lighter in the oven.
- White cornmeal
- Forms the main structure of the bread and gives its characteristic corn flavour and texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat that softens the crumb and contributes richness and browning.
- Lard
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and helps the surface brown.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whipped whites hold air that leavens the batter. Stirring them in vigorously knocks that air out, so fold gently until just combined to keep the cornbread light.
“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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