Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓
Spoon Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
In another bowl, mix the hominy grits, cornmeal, milk, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
Fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture gently.
Bake and serve
Pour the batter into a greased pan and dot the top with butter.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until thoroughly done.
Serve hot with plenty of butter and maple syrup.
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.
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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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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Eggs
- Beaten whites trapped in the batter give the bread its light, airy rise and soufflé-like texture.
- Cornmeal
- Provides the coarse, tender body that holds the spoon bread together as it sets.
- Hominy grits
- Add starch and body, giving the bread a soft, moist, pudding-like crumb.
- Milk
- Supplies moisture and helps the batter set into a custard-like structure when baked.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking to lift the batter and add volume.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whites beaten to stiff peaks hold air that gives the rise. Folding gently keeps that air in; stirring vigorously deflates the foam and leaves a dense, flat bread.
“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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