Why it works: Corn and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,168 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Boiled Corn on the Cob
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Select young and tender corn and remove the silk.
Fill a kettle half full of boiling water.
Boil the corn
Add ½ tablespoon of sugar and drop in one ear of corn at a time.
Ensure the water is boiling rapidly over high heat to avoid raw taste.
Boil for 20 minutes, then drain in a colander 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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Corn + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,168 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Young tender corn
- Its natural sugars and tender kernels make the main body of the dish.
- Sugar
- Adds a touch of sweetness that rounds out the flavor of the corn.
The step that matters
Keep the water boiling rapidly. Corn cooked in water that is not at a rapid boil cooks unevenly and can taste raw. A vigorous boil over high heat keeps the temperature up when the ears are added, so the kernels cook through evenly.
“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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