Why it works: Corn and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,345 recipes. Both carry 2,3-pentanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Corn Oysters
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine the corn, egg yolks, and grated crackers.
Gently fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites.
Fry and serve
Heat equal amounts of butter and lard on a griddle.
Drop the batter using a teaspoon onto the griddle.
Fry until golden brown and serve immediately.
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.
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 + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Corn + eggtop 26% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,484 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg whites
- Whipped and folded in, they lighten the batter and help the fritters puff and stay tender.
- Egg yolks
- Bind the corn and crackers together and add richness to the batter.
- Grated crackers
- Add body and help hold the batter together around the corn.
- Corn
- Provides the main flavor and bulk of the fritters.
- Butter and lard
- Fat for frying that gives the fritters golden browning and rich flavor.
The step that matters
Gently fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Folding rather than stirring keeps the air trapped in the whites. That trapped air is what lifts the batter and keeps the fritters light.
“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.
More corn fritters recipes
You might also like
Cream of Corn Soup50 recipes
Green Corn Soup46 recipes
Cornmeal Gruel41 recipes
Cornmeal Pudding32 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.