Succotash

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.

1. Corn + beanstop 3% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together1,211 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

2. Corn + peppertop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together5,324 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

3. Beans + peppertop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,733 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

4. Corn + buttertop 14% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together7,345 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

5. Beans + buttertop 19% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,799 recipes

   Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Corn

Provides the main body and natural sweetness of the dish.

Beans

Add starchy body and a tender, soft texture when fully cooked.

Butter or sweet cream

Adds fat and richness that smooths the texture and carries flavor.

The step that matters

Swap the beans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, butter, pepper):

1. Beansthe original
2. Lima beansfits about as well
3. Almondfits less well
4. Walnutfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against corn, butter, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.