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Tamale Loaf

A baked loaf made from cornmeal, tomatoes, onions, chili, olives, and optional meat.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,539 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Tamale Loaf

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Make the filling

  1. Heat the salad oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat.

  2. Add the chopped onions and cook for 15 minutes.

  3. Stir in the tomatoes, corn, and dissolved chili powder.

  4. Add the cornmeal, beaten eggs, milk, olives, and salt. Mix well.

  5. If desired, fold in the chopped meat.

Bake

  1. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish.

  2. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 30 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Tomato + corntop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,099 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Onion + olivetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together29,779 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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 loaf and sets into a firm, sliceable crumb as it bakes.
Eggs
Bind the mixture and help it set into a firm loaf when heated.
Milk
Adds moisture and softness to the batter so the cornmeal hydrates evenly.
Olives
Contribute salty, briny flavor and moisture throughout the loaf.
Onions
Add sweetness and aroma as they soften while cooking in the oil and butter.
Tomatoes
Add acidity, moisture, and savory depth to the filling.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, tomato, corn, egg, milk, olive, meat):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Asparagusfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, tomato, corn, egg, milk, olive, meat. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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