Name: Spicy Corn and Black Bean Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 4 cups corn kernels; 1 1/2 tablespoons fajita seasoning; 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed; 1 red bell pepper, chopped; 1/2 cup chopped green onion; 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced, or to taste; 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro; 1/4 cup fresh lime juice; 2 tablespoons orange juice; salt to taste (optional)

Why it works: Jalapeno and lime are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,035 recipes mention both. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Jalapeno + limetop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together1,035 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Pepper + limetop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together3,491 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Corn + beanstop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together1,211 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Lime + orangetop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together937 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Olive + beanstop 5% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together3,470 recipes

Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, corn, pepper, beans, jalapeno, lime, orange):

Capsicumbetter flavor fit
Tomatobetter flavor fit
Sweet potatobetter flavor fit
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, corn, pepper, beans, jalapeno, lime, orange. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

Spicy Corn and Black Bean Salad