Why it works: Corn and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,955 recipes. Both carry hexanal, which smells green, grassy. The science ↓
Corn Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the batter
Grate the corn off the cobs or strain the canned corn.
In a bowl, combine the corn pulp with the beaten egg yolks, salt, milk, and flour.
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites.
Fry and serve
Drop the mixture by teaspoonfuls into deep, hot fat.
Fry until nicely brown on a hot greased griddle or frying pan.
Serve with hot syrup.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Corn + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Whipped whites trap air for lift, while yolks add richness and help bind the batter.
- Flour
- Provides starch that sets during frying and gives the fritters body.
- Corn
- Supplies the main bulk, natural sweetness, and moisture to the batter.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter so it spoons out evenly.
The step that matters
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Egg whites hold air bubbles that give the fritters lightness. Vigorous stirring deflates them, leaving dense, heavy fritters.
“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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