Why it works: Sugar and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 77,875 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Corn Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix cornmeal, sugar, and baking powder.
Add milk and melted oleomargarine, stirring until combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish.
Bake
Bake for 30-40 minutes until set and golden on top.
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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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 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
- Provides the grainy body and corn flavor that give the pudding its character.
- Milk
- Supplies liquid that hydrates the cornmeal and sets into a tender custard as it bakes.
- Oleomargarine
- Adds fat for a richer, softer crumb and helps the top brown.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking to lighten the pudding and help it rise.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the top brown as it bakes.
The step that matters
Bake until set and golden. Cornmeal and milk thicken as the egg-free mixture heats, so underbaking leaves a loose, runny center while overbaking can dry the edges. Checking for a firm center and golden top shows when the starch has set.
“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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