Name: Sweet Corn in Cream with Cheese
Ingredients: Fresh corn from 2 ears; ½ cup thick cream; Coarse sea salt to taste; Black pepper to taste; ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese or cream cheese; Paprika for sprinkling

Why it works: Corn and pepper 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 ↓

Sweet Corn in Cream with Cheese

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

Cut the corn from the ears and moisten it with thick cream.
Season with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Fill a baking dish with the corn mixture.

Top and bake

Cover the top with grated Parmesan or cream cheese.
Sprinkle with paprika.
Bake at 300°F (150°C) for 30 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Corn + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,324 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Pepper + parmesan cheesetop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,322 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Cream + parmesan cheesetop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,566 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
Corn + parmesan cheesetop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together184 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together21,449 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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

Fresh corn: Provides the main body and sweetness of the dish.
Thick cream: Adds moisture and richness so the corn bakes tender rather than dry.
Parmesan or cream cheese: Melts and browns on top, adding savory flavor and a golden 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.