Why it works: Corn and lime work together. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 773 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Pumpkin Corn Soup with Ginger Lime Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
In a medium covered pot, cook the corn kernels with a little water until soft, about 10 minutes.
In a food processor, process the corn until smooth, run through a sieve and discard the skins.
Combine the corn puree, garlic, salt, white pepper, and stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Reduce the heat to low, add the pumpkin, and cook 10 minutes while stirring.
Make the garlic cream
In another saucepan cook the lime juice and ginger 2 minutes over medium heat.
Remove from the heat and pour through a sieve to remove the ginger.
In a bowl, combine the ginger-lime juice, the lime zest, and cream.
Whip until the mixture has soft peaks.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Corn | 1/2 cup kernels (82g) | 77 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Lime | juice of 1 lime (44ml) | 11 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Garlic | 1 clove (3g) | 4 |
| Ginger | 1 tsp grated fresh (2g) | 2 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Pumpkin | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
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.
-
Corn + limetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together773 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Clove + limetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together909 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Garlic + limetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,411 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Garlic + chickentop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,850 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
-
Garlic + clovetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,368 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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 and sweetness once cooked and pureed into the soup.
- Cooked pumpkin
- Adds body, mild sweetness and smooth texture to the soup.
- Chicken stock
- Supplies the liquid that thins the puree into a soup.
- Heavy cream
- Adds fat and richness, and whips to a soft, airy topping.
- Lime juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the cream and balances richness.
The step that matters
Sieving the corn puree. Sieving removes the tough skins that would otherwise leave the soup gritty and uneven in texture.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, garlic, clove, chicken, pumpkin, cream, lime):
- Cuminfits better
- Corianderfits better
- Gingerfits better
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against corn, garlic, clove, chicken, pumpkin, cream, lime. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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