Why it works: Flour and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Corn Bread
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. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
In another bowl, beat the egg and mix in the lard.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients, adding water until you achieve a smooth batter.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes or 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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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Cornmeal
- Forms the bulk of the crumb and gives cornbread its characteristic flavor and texture.
- Flour
- Adds structure to the crumb so the cornbread holds together when cut.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure as it sets during baking.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cornbread rises and stays light.
- Lard
- Adds fat for tenderness and helps the crust brown.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown in the oven.
The step that matters
Adding water to the batter. Water should be added gradually until the batter is smooth. Too little leaves dry, crumbly cornbread, while too much makes it dense and wet, since cornmeal absorbs liquid slowly as it sits.
“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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