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 ↓
To Can Corn
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the salt, sugar, water, and corn thoroughly.
Place the jar tops on loosely; do not screw them tight.
Steam the jars like tomatoes for a total of four hours.
After three hours, screw the tops on firmly and steam for one more hour, adding more hot water if necessary.
Can corn soon after it is picked, ideally within an hour.
Select firm, full grains before they harden; this is when they contain the most sugar.
Husk the corn and brush off the silks with a stiff brush.
Cut the grains with a sharp knife, scrape lightly, and fill the jar.
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
- Corn
- Forms the bulk of the food being preserved; its natural sugar is highest when the grains are young and firm.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the corn's flavour.
The step that matters
Leave the jar tops loose for the first three hours of steaming. Loose lids let steam and trapped air escape during the early heating, so the jar does not build pressure or push liquid out. Tightening them only after three hours seals the jar once the contents are hot.
“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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