Why it works: Pepper and corn 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 Croquettes
makes twelve croquettesIngredients
Directions
Prepare
Stir together the egg, cracker crumbs, sugar, salt, pepper, and corn in a bowl.
Form the mixture into croquettes.
Coat and fry
Roll each croquette in beaten egg, then coat with additional cracker crumbs.
Fry the croquettes in deep hot oil until golden brown.
This recipe makes twelve croquettes.
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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Pepper + corntop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,324 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + corntop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,168 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + corntop 26% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,484 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + peppertop 32% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,401 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,401 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
- Egg
- Binds the mixture together and forms a crisp coating when beaten.
- Cracker crumbs
- Provide the body of the mixture and a crunchy outer coating.
- Corn
- Supplies the main flavor and moisture inside each croquette.
The step that matters
Fry in deep hot oil until golden brown. If the oil is not hot enough, the coating absorbs oil and turns greasy instead of crisping. Too hot, and the outside browns before the centre heats through. Steady heat gives an even, crisp crust.
“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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