Why it works: Molasses and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,253 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Corn Pone
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Stir cornmeal into boiling water with salt, then remove from heat.
Add molasses, vinegar, baking soda, and shortening, then beat thoroughly.
Shape and cook
When cool, form into cakes.
Bake or fry on a griddle.
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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Molasses + vinegartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,253 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cornmeal
- Forms the main structure as its starch thickens and sets with the boiling water.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, deep flavor, and color to the cakes.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that reacts with the baking soda to lighten the batter.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the vinegar to produce gas that helps the cakes rise.
- Shortening
- Adds fat that softens texture and keeps the cakes tender.
The step that matters
When cool, form into cakes.. Cornmeal starch gelatinizes in boiling water and firms as it cools. Shaping the mixture while it is still hot makes it soft and hard to handle, so let it cool first.
“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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