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 moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, rub together the butter and sugar until well combined.
Make the batter
Add the beaten eggs and then the milk, mixing well.
Sift the salt and baking powder into the corn meal and flour, then combine with the wet ingredients.
Pour the batter into a well-greased pan.
Bake
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown.
Optionally, you can also make this recipe into muffins.
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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Corn + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Corn + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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
- Corn meal
- Gives the bread its gritty texture and characteristic corn flavour.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure so the batter holds together when baked.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and rich flavour, and helps browning.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set in the oven.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cornbread rises and becomes light.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid that hydrates the flour and meal and makes the batter pourable.
The step that matters
Pour the batter into a well-greased pan. Cornbread is delicate and lacks much gluten, so it can stick and crumble when released. A well-greased pan lets the crumb release cleanly and helps the golden crust form evenly.
“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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