Why it works: Corn and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,955 recipes. Both carry hexanal, which smells green, grassy. The science ↓
Scalloped Corn III
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Prepare a 1-quart casserole with nonstick pan spray.
Make the filling
In a medium bowl, combine the corn, milk, and egg; stir to mix well.
Add ¾ cup of the crumbs, then the pimento, onion, salt, and pepper. Mix well; pour into the prepared casserole.
Bake and serve
Melt the margarine in a small skillet. Add the remaining ¼ cup cracker crumbs; stir to distribute the margarine through the crumbs.
Sprinkle the crumbs over the corn mixture. Bake for 35 minutes.
Serve hot.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Corn | 1/2 cup kernels (82g) | 77 |
| Cracker | 5 saltine crackers (15g) | 66 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Pimento | 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 + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
-
Corn + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,324 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Corn + oniontop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,205 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
-
Cream + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cream-style corn
- Provides the main body and sweetness of the casserole.
- Egg
- Binds the mixture and helps it set as it bakes.
- Cracker crumbs
- Thicken the filling and form a crisp, browned topping.
- Fat-free milk
- Adds moisture and helps the custard-like filling set.
- Margarine
- Fat that helps the topping crumbs brown and crisp.
The step that matters
Mixing the topping crumbs with melted margarine. Stirring the margarine fully through the crumbs lets every crumb brown evenly; dry patches stay pale and gritty. Bake until the filling is set and the top is golden.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, corn, milk, egg, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, corn, milk, egg, pepper. 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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