Why it works: Corn and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,324 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Corn Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the corn
Cut through each row of corn kernels with a sharp knife.
Use the back of the knife to press out the corn pulp.
Mix and fry
In a bowl, combine the corn pulp, beaten eggs, salt, pepper, and enough flour to hold the mixture together.
Heat a buttered griddle over medium-high heat.
Fry the mixture in small cakes until golden brown on both sides.
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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Corn + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,324 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Corn + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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 + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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 pulp
- Provides the main body and sweet flavour of the fritters.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and help it set when cooked.
- All-purpose flour
- Thickens the batter so it holds together in cakes.
- Butter
- Fat for frying that promotes browning on the surface.
The step that matters
Add just enough flour. Too little flour leaves the cakes loose and likely to fall apart in the pan, while too much makes them dense and heavy. The flour should be added only until the mixture holds together.
“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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