Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓
Green-corn Pudding
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.
Prepare the corn
Score the kernels and cut them from the corn cobs, then scrape off any remaining corn from the cobs with a knife.
Mix and bake
In a bowl, combine the corn, milk, beaten eggs, flour, butter, sugar, and salt.
Pour the mixture into a well-greased baking dish.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 2 hours.
Serve
Serve hot with plenty of fresh butter.
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 + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Corn + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Corn + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and help it set into a custard-like pudding when baked.
- Flour
- Thickens the custard and gives the pudding body so it holds its shape.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base that cooks into a soft, creamy custard.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, contributing moisture and a tender texture.
- Sweet green corn ears
- Supplies the kernels and their natural sugars, giving the pudding its main flavor and sweetness.
The step that matters
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 2 hours. Eggs and flour must cook through and set the custard without drying or curdling it. Starting in a fully preheated oven and baking until the center is set gives an even, creamy texture.
“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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