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 ↓
Large Hominy
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the hominy
Combine hominy and water in a pot.
Set on low heat for an entire day without salting.
After a few hours, allow it to boil gently without stirring.
Serve
When ready to serve, heat in a well-buttered skillet.
Season with salt and pepper, and add milk if desired.
Let it boil once or twice 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.
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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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Pepper + milktop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together26,984 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Hominy
- Main starch that softens slowly during long gentle cooking to become tender.
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavor when the hominy is heated in the skillet.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and creaminess to the finished hominy when used.
The step that matters
Set on low heat for an entire day without salting.. Long, gentle cooking softens the tough hominy kernels slowly; salting during this stage can toughen the skins and slow softening, so seasoning is held until serving.
“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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