Name: The Minimalist's Corn Chowder
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 4 to 6 ears corn; 1 tablespoon butter or neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed; 1 medium onion, chopped; 2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 2 tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped, optional; 1 cup milk; 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves, optional

Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

The Minimalist's Corn Chowder

4 servings

Ingredients

4 to 6 ears corn
1 tablespoon butter or neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped, optional
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves, optional

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

805Calories

18 gProtein

49 gFat

82 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 11 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Canola	1 tbsp (14g)	124
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

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.

Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,855 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Corn + potatotop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together938 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Potato + tomatotop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,798 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

Swap the tomato

The recipe marks tomato as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, butter, onion, potato, pepper, milk, parsley):

Carrotfits better
Capsicumfits better
Chivefits better
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against corn, butter, onion, potato, pepper, milk, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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