Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Green Corn Baked
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Grate or cut the corn from the ears.
Beat the eggs until very light.
Cream the butter and stir it into the warm milk.
Mix the egg mixture with the corn, brown sugar, and salt until well combined.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into a deep dish.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Serve hot in the same dish.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Corn + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Corn
- Provides the bulk and sweet corn flavor of the dish.
- Eggs
- Set when baked, giving the pudding its firm, custard-like structure.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, contributing to a tender texture.
- Milk
- Supplies moisture and liquid so the mixture bakes into a creamy custard.
- Light brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and a subtle caramel note that complements the corn.
The step that matters
Bake until just set. Eggs set as they heat, so underbaking leaves the custard loose while overbaking can make it dry and grainy. Checking within the stated time range helps the centre firm evenly.
“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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