Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Corn Mock Oysters and Corn Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the corn
Cut down through the center of each row of kernels with a sharp knife; with the back of the knife press out the pulp, leaving the hull on the cob.
Use canned corn the same way, first heating and mashing through a strainer.
Make the batter
To one cup of the pulp add two well-beaten eggs, one teaspoon of butter and half of salt, little pepper and two tablespoonfuls of flour, or enough to hold it together.
Cook the fritters
Fry as you would griddle cakes on a buttered griddle, or add a little more flour and drop from a spoon into deep fat, making a corn fritter.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 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.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
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.
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Tea + peppertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together260 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the pulp and set when cooked, holding the fritter together.
- Flour
- Adds body so the batter holds together rather than running on the griddle.
- Corn pulp
- Forms the bulk of the fritter, providing sweetness and its tender texture.
The step that matters
Adding flour to hold the batter together. Too little flour leaves the batter loose, so it spreads or breaks apart in the pan; add just enough to hold it together, since too much makes the fritters dense and tough.
“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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