Why it works: Butter and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Corn 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
In a bowl, combine cornmeal, salt, sugar, and butter.
Add boiling water gradually until the mixture is wet.
Beat in the egg until well combined.
Bake
Spread the mixture ½ inch deep on buttered baking tins.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven 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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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 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
- Cornmeal
- Forms the bulk of the cake and gives it its coarse, grainy texture.
- Egg
- Binds the mixture together and adds structure as it sets in the oven.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and helps the surface brown during baking.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust take on golden browning.
The step that matters
Adding the boiling water gradually. Boiling water partly cooks the cornmeal starch and softens the grains, so the mixture becomes wet and spreadable. Adding it slowly lets you stop once it is evenly moistened, avoiding a soggy or stiff batter.
“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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