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Cream Cheese, Havarti, and Parmesan Herbed Christmas Tree

"This delicious cream cheese-based appetizer is a great addition to any holiday party and is always a hit with guests due to its festive look! I have typically made this recipe for parties with the light or reduced fat options instead of regular and everyone has said it tastes great and looks even better. After the tree has reached desired firmness, set it on your serving platter and top the tree with lemon peel cut into the shape of a star. Serve with your choice of crackers. Triscuits® or Wheat Thins® work great!"

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 8 ingredients
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Cream Cheese, Havarti, and Parmesan Herbed Christmas Tree

Why it works: Cream cheese and parmesan cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 311 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Cream Cheese, Havarti, and Parmesan Herbed Christmas Tree

20 servings
Prep15 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

340Calories
20 gProtein
27 gFat
8 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Cream Cheese1 oz (28g)99
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Cream cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together311 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,037 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Basil + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,823 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  4. Basil + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,351 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  5. Cheese + parmesan cheesetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,041 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

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

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream cheese, cheese, parmesan cheese, basil, lemon, parsley):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Dillfits better
  3. Oreganofits better
  4. Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cream cheese, cheese, parmesan cheese, basil, lemon, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.