Why it works: Milk and corn 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
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine sweet milk and enough flour to create a stiff batter. Mix in baking powder and a pinch of salt.
Fold in the canned corn until well combined.
Fry
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium‑high heat.
Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil and fry until golden brown.
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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Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Flour + corntop 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).
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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the stiff batter together as it fries.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas as it heats, helping the fritters rise and turn light.
- Sweet milk
- Hydrates the flour into a batter and adds moisture and tenderness.
- Canned corn
- Adds sweetness, texture and bursts of flavour throughout each fritter.
The step that matters
Frying the spoonfuls in hot oil. The oil must be hot enough that the batter sets and browns quickly on the outside. If the oil is too cool, the fritters absorb grease, turn heavy and greasy, and may not cook through before browning.
“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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