Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Hominy Cake
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.
Make the batter
Combine the boiled hominy, flour, salt, melted butter, baking powder, and eggs in a bowl.
Work the mixture with your fingers until smooth.
Bake
Transfer the mixture to a greased mold.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until cooked through.
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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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
- Boiled hominy
- Forms the body of the cake and gives it its starchy, corn-based texture.
- Flour
- Provides structure so the mixture holds together when baked.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and help it set firm as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender crumb.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes lighter.
The step that matters
Working the mixture until smooth. Mixing thoroughly distributes the eggs, fat and leavening evenly, so the cake bakes with a uniform texture instead of dense or uneven pockets.
“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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