Why it works: Corn and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 25% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,532 recipes. Both carry 2-heptanol, which smells bitter, floral. The science ↓
Corn Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the corn stock
Split the grains from the corn and scrape them off the cobs.
Boil the cobs in enough water to cover them for 10 minutes.
Strain the water and measure out 1 quart.
Make the soup
Slowly add 1 quart of cream (or the thickened milk) to the strained water, then add the corn.
Season with salt and cook for 15 minutes.
Strain the soup again before serving.
Serve
Serve with a spoonful of whipped cream and a handful of freshly popped popcorn.
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 + creamtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Corn
- Provides the main flavor and body of the soup, with sweetness from the kernels and cobs.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, velvety texture to the soup.
- Butter and flour
- Thicken the milk into a cream substitute, giving the soup body and richness.
The step that matters
Adding the cream to the stock. Pouring the cream in slowly helps it blend evenly into the liquid and reduces the chance of curdling or lumps. Adding it gradually while the liquid is warm keeps the soup smooth.
“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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