Why it works: Butter and milk 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 ↓
Indian Meal Breakfast Cakes
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.
Prepare the batter
Beat the eggs until thick and light.
Cut the butter into the Indian meal.
Pour enough boiling water over the mixture to wet it.
Once cool, add the eggs and salt.
Mix the dissolved saleratus into the milk and add enough milk to create a thick batter.
Bake and serve
Butter square tin pans and fill them about two-thirds full.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until done.
Cut into squares and serve hot.
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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Butter + milktop 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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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Indian meal
- Forms the bulk of the cakes and gives them their cornmeal structure and flavor.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, and help bind the batter as it sets.
- Saleratus
- Releases gas as it reacts with the batter, helping the cakes rise and lighten.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and flavor, coating the meal particles.
- Milk
- Adds moisture to bring the batter to a thick, spoonable consistency.
The step that matters
Add the saleratus to the milk before the batter. Saleratus is an alkaline leavener that needs to be fully dissolved and evenly distributed so it reacts uniformly. Clumps can leave pockets of bitterness or uneven rising.
“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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