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 of corn and cut them from the cob.
Scrape off any remaining corn from the cob with a knife.
Make the pudding
In a bowl, combine the corn, milk, beaten eggs, flour, butter, sugar, and salt.
Pour the mixture into a well‑greased baking dish.
Bake and serve
Bake in a preheated oven at 400 °F (200 °C) for 2 hours.
Serve hot with fresh butter or a sweet sauce for dessert.
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
- Sweet green corn
- Provides the main body and sweet flavor of the pudding.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and set as it bakes, giving the pudding structure.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and creates a custard-like texture when baked.
- Flour
- Thickens the mixture so it holds together rather than running loose.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, contributing to a tender texture and flavor.
The step that matters
Bake in a preheated oven at 400 °F (200 °C) for 2 hours. Eggs must set fully while the milk and starch cook through. Starting in a properly preheated oven keeps the baking time consistent, so the center firms without the edges drying out.
“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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