Baked Hush Puppies

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. Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together29,058 recipes

   Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

2. Sugar + evaporated milktop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together804 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

3. Corn + garlictop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together1,856 recipes

   Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

4. Corn + oniontop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,205 recipes

   Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).

5. Flour + corntop 13% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together6,165 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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 oven.

Flour

Provides the main structure of the batter once it sets.

Cornmeal

Gives the hush puppies their characteristic texture and corn flavor.

Baking powder

Releases gas that lifts the batter so the hush puppies rise and turn light.

Evaporated milk

Adds moisture and richness to the batter.

Corn squares

Add crunch and corn flavor while helping bind the batter.

The step that matters

Swap the garlic

The recipe marks garlic as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, corn, sugar, egg, evaporated milk, onion):

1. Jalapenofits better
2. Nutmegfits better
3. Cinnamonfits better
4. Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, corn, sugar, egg, evaporated milk, onion. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.