Splendid Corn Bread

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. Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together78,219 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

2. Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together106,462 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

3. Molasses + flourtop 16% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together10,429 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

4. Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together88,785 recipes

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

5. Milk + molassestop 21% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together7,243 recipes

   Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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

Sour milk

Its acidity reacts with the baking soda to lift the batter and adds tang.

Baking soda

Reacts with the acidic sour milk and molasses to produce gas that leavens the bread.

Egg

Binds the batter and adds structure as it sets during steaming.

Molasses

Adds sweetness, moisture, and a dark color to the crumb.

Cornmeal

Provides the main body and the characteristic grainy texture of the cornbread.

Flour

Adds gluten-forming structure that helps hold the crumb together.

The step that matters