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California Bean Dip

A chilled bean dip made with white corn, black beans, salad dressings, onion, hot pepper sauce, cilantro, chili powder, and black pepper.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Corn and beans match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,211 recipes. Both carry 2,3-pentanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

California Bean Dip

Time8 hours, or overnight

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dip

  1. In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix white corn, black beans, Italian-style salad dressing, ranch-style salad dressing, onion, hot pepper sauce, cilantro, chili powder and ground black pepper.

Chill and serve

  1. Chill in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight, before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

250Calories
12 gProtein
2 gFat
50 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 8 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Black Bean1/2 cup canned (120g) drained114
Corn1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Salad Dressingnot in our table0
Saucenot in our table0

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. Corn + beanstop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,211 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Beans + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,242 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

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

  4. Beans + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,733 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

White corn
Adds sweetness and soft texture that bulks out the dip.
Black beans
Provide the main body and creamy-firm texture of the dip.
Italian-style salad dressing
Adds acidity and tang that brightens the beans and corn.
Ranch-style salad dressing
Adds fat and creaminess, binding the dip and softening its flavour.
Onion
Adds sharp aromatic flavour that deepens as the dip chills.

The step that matters

Chill in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight, before serving.. Resting lets the dressings, onion, spices and herbs soak into the beans and corn, so the flavours meld. Serving too soon leaves the dip tasting raw and unblended.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, beans, ranch, pepper, sauce):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Tomatofits better
  3. Welsh onionfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against corn, beans, ranch, pepper, sauce. 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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