Name: Apple-Lemon Fritters
Ingredients: 1/2 cup whole milk or soymilk; 3 large eggs; 2 Tbs. melted butter or soy margarine; 1/4 cup cornmeal; 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tsp. baking powder; 1/2 tsp. salt; 2 cups (about 1 1/2 apples) diced apples; 1 tsp. ground cinnamon; 1 Tbs. lemon zest; 1 Tbs. granulated sugar; 2 cups vegetable oil for frying, or more as needed

Why it works: Apple and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,598 recipes. Both carry methyl cinnamate, which smells strawberry. The science ↓

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.

Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,598 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Cinnamon + lemontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,950 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,341 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,655 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Bind the batter and add structure as they set in the hot oil.
All-purpose flour: Provides the main structure of the batter once heated.
Baking powder: Releases gas that lifts the batter so fritters puff and stay light.
Whole milk or soymilk: Adds liquid that hydrates the flour and gives the batter its moisture.
Diced apples: Add moisture and sweetness, and become tender as the fritters cook.
Cornmeal: Adds a slightly crisp, gritty texture to the fritter exterior.

The step that matters

Frying the fritters in hot oil. If the oil is not hot enough, fritters absorb extra oil and turn greasy; if too hot, the outside browns before the centre cooks through. Medium heat and frying in small batches keep the oil temperature steady.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, egg, butter, flour, cinnamon, lemon, sugar):

Vanillafits better
Raisinfits better
Figfits better
Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, egg, butter, flour, cinnamon, lemon, sugar. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Apple-Lemon Fritters