Mexican Corn Soup

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.

1. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

   Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

2. Onion + chickentop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together17,814 recipes

   Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

3. Butter + cheddar cheesetop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,436 recipes

   Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

4. Corn + milktop 10% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together6,955 recipes

   Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).

5. Corn + peppertop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together5,324 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Corn kernels

Provides the main body of sweet corn flavor and bulk in the soup.

Butter

Adds fat and richness and carries the flavor of the onion and corn.

Flour

Thickens the broth and milk into a smooth, creamy base.

Milk or cream

Adds creaminess and body to the thickened soup base.

Cheddar cheese

Melts into the soup to add richness, salty flavor and a creamy texture.

The step that matters

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, butter, flour, chicken, milk, cheddar cheese, pepper):

1. Potatofits better
2. Capsicumfits better
3. Tomatofits better
4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against corn, butter, flour, chicken, milk, cheddar cheese, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.