Why it works: Milk and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,466 recipes. Both carry 2-undecenal, which smells sweet. The science ↓
Hominy Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
In a bowl, combine the egg, sweet milk, flour, boiled hominy, and salt, and mix until well combined.
With floured hands, roll the mixture into oval balls.
Dip each ball in a well-beaten egg, then coat with dried bread crumbs.
Fry and serve
Fry the fritters in hot lard until golden brown.
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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Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Hominy
- Forms the bulk of the fritter, giving it a substantial, slightly starchy body.
- Egg
- Binds the mixture together and sets during frying to hold the fritter's shape.
- Flour
- Thickens the batter-like mixture so the fritters hold together when rolled and fried.
- Sweet milk
- Adds moisture and softness to the mixture, loosening it for easier binding.
The step that matters
Frying in hot lard. If the lard is not hot enough, the coating absorbs fat and turns greasy before it browns, while a very hot pan can brown the outside before the inside sets. Steady heat gives an even golden crust and a fritter cooked through.
“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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