Why it works: Buttermilk and molasses work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 526 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Breakfast Corn Cake
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
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
Mix and bake
In a bowl, combine buttermilk, Indian meal, egg, molasses or sugar, salt, and saleratus dissolved in a little warm water.
Stir the dissolved saleratus into the mixture just before baking.
Pour the mixture into a pan and bake 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.
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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Buttermilk + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together526 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Buttermilk + eggtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,986 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Egg + molassestop 34% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,879 recipes
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Buttermilk or sour milk
- Provides acidity that reacts with the saleratus to lift the batter and adds tang.
- Indian meal
- Cornmeal forms the body of the cake and gives it its characteristic grainy texture.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure as it sets in the oven.
- Saleratus
- Leavening that releases gas when it reacts with the acidic buttermilk, helping the cake rise.
- Molasses or sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown during baking.
The step that matters
Stir the dissolved saleratus in just before baking. Saleratus starts reacting with the acidic buttermilk as soon as it is mixed in, releasing gas. If the batter waits, much of that lift is lost before it reaches the oven, so the cake may bake up flat and dense.
“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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