Why it works: Corn and wheat match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 465 recipes. Both carry hexanal, which smells green, grassy. The science ↓
New England 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
Scald the milk and gradually pour it over the corn meal.
When cool, add the melted butter, salt, and yeast.
Do this at night.
In the morning, beat the mixture thoroughly.
Rise and bake
Add the well-beaten eggs and the baking soda dissolved in water.
Pour the mixture into buttered deep earthen plates.
Let it stand for 15 minutes to rise again.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 400°F (200°C).
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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Corn + wheattop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together465 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Milk + wheattop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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 batter and gives the cornbread its characteristic grainy structure.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and help set the crumb during baking.
- Yeast
- Produces gas during the long rest, lightening the batter before baking.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the batter's acidity to release gas, adding further rise and lightness.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and richness in the crumb.
- Milk
- Hydrates the corn meal and adds moisture and richness to the batter.
The step that matters
Beat the mixture thoroughly in the morning. Thorough beating after the overnight rest redistributes the yeast and gas and develops an even crumb. Skipping it can leave a dense, uneven texture.
“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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