Why it works: Corn and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,165 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Corn Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the batter
Core and remove the pulp from the corn.
In a bowl, combine the corn pulp, flour, salt, and baking powder.
Fry and serve
Heat the fat in a frying pan until smoking hot.
Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the hot fat and fry until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels before serving.
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.
-
Corn + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Sugar + corntop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,168 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Corn pulp
- Provides the main body, moisture and natural sweetness of the fritters.
- Flour
- Gives the batter structure so the fritters hold their shape while frying.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas as it reacts in the batter, helping the fritters rise and turn light.
The step that matters
Frying in smoking hot fat. The fat must be very hot before the batter goes in. If it is too cool, the fritters soak up oil and turn greasy. If it is too hot, the outside browns before the centre cooks through.
“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
The 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.

Cream of Corn Soup50 recipes
Green Corn Soup46 recipes
Cornmeal Gruel41 recipes
Cornmeal Pudding32 recipes