Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Stewed Dried Corn
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the corn overnight in cold water; if not possible, cover with water and place over a kettle of hot water for 3 to 4 hours.
Cook
Once softened, cook the corn for 5 minutes.
Add the flour, butter, cream, salt, pepper, and sugar. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Serve warm.
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 + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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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).
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
- Softens during soaking and cooking to become tender and form the dish's body.
- Flour
- Thickens the cream and butter mixture into a smooth, lightly binding sauce.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving the sauce a smooth mouthfeel and flavor.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, thickening gently with the flour as it cooks.
- Sugar
- Adds a touch of sweetness that balances the savory seasoning and corn flavor.
The step that matters
Adding the flour and cooking the sauce. Flour must be cooked with the butter and cream for several minutes to thicken fully and lose its raw starchy taste. Stirring keeps it from lumping or scorching on the bottom of the pan.
“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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