Name: Smoky Corn Salsa
Yield: Makes 4 cups
Ingredients: 2 red bell peppers, quartered, seeded; 3 ears of fresh corn, husked; 1 bunch green onions, trimmed; 4 tablespoons (about) olive oil, divided; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice; 1 tablespoon bottled chipotle hot sauce; 2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Why it works: Cumin and lime match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,216 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Smoky Corn Salsa

Makes 4 cups

Ingredients

2 red bell peppers, quartered, seeded
3 ears of fresh corn, husked
1 bunch green onions, trimmed
4 tablespoons (about) olive oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon bottled chipotle hot sauce
2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

303Calories

6 gProtein

16 gFat

40 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 9 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Red Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By epicurious. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

Cumin + limetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,216 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Pepper + limetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,491 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, corn, olive, garlic, clove, cumin, lime):

Capsicumfits better
Spinachfits better
Eggplantfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, corn, olive, garlic, clove, cumin, lime. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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