Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Dried Corn
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the corn
Wash a pint of dried corn in water.
Put the corn to soak overnight in clean cold water, or place it over a kettle of hot water for two or three hours.
When softened, cook the corn for ten minutes in the soaking water, adding butter, flour, salt, and pepper as soon as it boils.
Make and cook the dumplings
Take the yolk of one egg, one tablespoonful of milk, and a pinch of salt; thicken with flour until quite stiff.
Drop the thickened mixture into the corn in small dumplings not larger than an acorn.
Cover tightly and cook for five or ten minutes, ensuring there is enough water on the corn before adding the dumplings; keep the cover on until the dumplings are done.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | 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.
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.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together26,984 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Dried corn (in the method)
- Forms the body of the pudding and, once softened, gives it its main texture.
- Egg yolk (in the method)
- Binds the dumpling mixture and helps it set firm when cooked.
- Flour (in the method)
- Thickens the corn liquid and the dumpling dough so they hold their shape.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving the pudding a smoother mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Keep enough water on the corn before adding the dumplings. Dumplings need enough liquid around them to cook through and swell gently. If the corn has dried out, the dumplings can stick, scorch, or cook unevenly, so the cover should stay on while they finish.
“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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