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Grilled Corn with Lime Butter

Grilled corn topped with lime butter.

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Why it works: Lime and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,491 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Grilled Corn with Lime Butter

Time13 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the lime butter

  1. Add all ingredients except corn to a blender and puree until smooth.

  2. Scrape the contents of the bowl onto a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into logs.

  3. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare and grill the corn

  1. Heat grill.

  2. Peel corn husks down without removing them.

  3. Pull off silk and replace the husks.

  4. Rinse the corn under water and place the corn on grill.

  5. Grill corn 13 min. turning until tender.

Serve

  1. Serve immediately with lime butter.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

198Calories
4 gProtein
13 gFat
22 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Corn1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Chive1 tbsp (3g)1
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 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.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

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.

  1. Lime + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,491 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Parsley + limetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together547 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Chive + parsleytop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,150 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Lime + corntop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together773 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Unsalted butter
Provides fat and richness, carrying the chives, lime and herbs through the dish.
Fresh corn
Forms the main body of the dish, cooking to tender kernels over the grill.
Lime zest
Adds aromatic citrus oil that brightens the rich butter.
Lime juice
Adds acidity that cuts the richness of the butter and sharpens its flavour.

The step that matters

Grill corn 13 min. turning until tender. Turning the ears lets heat reach every side so the kernels cook evenly and the husks char without the corn drying out. Turning often and checking tenderness keeps the kernels juicy rather than tough or scorched.

Swap the chive

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, parsley, lime, pepper, corn):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Carrotfits better
  3. Potatofits about as well
  4. Chivethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, parsley, lime, pepper, corn. 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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