Why it works: Milk and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Johnnie Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Bring the milk and water to a boil.
Stir in the cornmeal and remove from heat.
Beat in the egg, shortening, sugar, salt, and baking powder until well combined.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 30 minutes.
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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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk 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
- Cornmeal
- Forms the main body of the cake and sets as it bakes.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure as it sets in the oven.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and richness and helps the batter hydrate evenly.
- Shortening
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and carries flavour.
The step that matters
Stirring the cornmeal into the boiling liquid. Adding cornmeal off the heat or too slowly can leave lumps, because starch needs to hydrate evenly. Removing the pan from heat before mixing in the egg and leavener keeps the eggs from scrambling and the baking powder from losing its lift early.
“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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