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 ↓
Spanish Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix corn, flour, milk, and baking powder.
Fold in the beaten egg whites and chopped Spanish pepper.
Fry
Heat deep fat in a pan and fry spoonfuls of the mixture 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.
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 + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,324 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Corn + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and milk 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
- Corn
- Adds sweetness, bulk and a tender bite to the batter.
- Flour
- Provides structure, as its starch and proteins set when the fritters fry.
- Eggs
- Whites trap air for lightness and help the fritters set and hold together.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during cooking, helping the fritters rise and become light.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter so it spreads and cooks evenly.
The step that matters
Frying in hot fat until golden brown. If the fat is too cool, the spoonfuls absorb oil and turn greasy; if it is too hot, the outside browns before the centre cooks through. Steady, moderate heat gives a crisp, golden exterior with a fully cooked interior.
“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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