Name: Azteca
Ingredients: 1 can (~2 cups ) corn; 1 can (~2 cups) kidney beans; 1 can (~2 cups) black beans; ½ onion , finely minced; 4 cloves garlic , finely minced; 6 dried pequin chiles , chopped; Mustard seed , salt , and freshly-ground black pepper , to taste

Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Azteca

Ingredients

1 can (~2 cups ) corn
1 can (~2 cups) kidney beans
1 can (~2 cups) black beans
½ onion , finely minced
4 cloves garlic , finely minced
6 dried pequin chiles , chopped
Mustard seed , salt , and freshly-ground black pepper , to taste

Directions

Mix ingredients in pot.
Add three cans of water.
Boil until done.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

360Calories

20 gProtein

2 gFat

70 gCarbs

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
Black Bean	1/2 cup canned (120g) drained	114
Kidney Bean	1/2 cup canned (128g) drained	112
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Seed	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.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

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.

Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Kidney beans + beanstop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together364 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Corn + beanstop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,211 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Beans + mustardtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together852 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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

What each ingredient does

Kidney beans: Provide body and starch that thicken the soup as they break down.
Black beans: Add earthy flavour and a dense, creamy texture to the soup.
Corn: Adds sweetness and soft texture to the soup.
Garlic: Adds pungent aroma that mellows as the soup cooks.
Dried pequin chiles: Add heat and a bright, pungent flavour to the soup.

Swap the kidney beans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, beans, onion, clove, garlic, mustard, pepper):

Chickpeafits better
Lentilsfits better
Black-eyed peafits better
Kidney beansthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against corn, beans, onion, clove, garlic, mustard, 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.