Cream of Corn Soup

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. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

   Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

2. Corn + milktop 10% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together6,955 recipes

   Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).

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

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

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

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

5. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 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

Corn

Forms the main body of the soup and adds natural sweetness as it cooks.

Flour

Thickens the soup by swelling its starch when heated in liquid.

Butter

Adds fat for richness and a smoother mouthfeel.

Milk

Adds creaminess and body to the soup.

Onion

Contributes aroma and savory depth to the soup.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, flour, butter, pepper, milk):

1. Capsicumfits better
2. Potatofits better
3. Sweet potatofits better
4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against corn, flour, butter, pepper, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.