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Creamy Cheese Grits with Chilies

I have a good, basic recipe for cheese grits in my cookbook, but last night I was feeling feisty. I was cooking steaks. B...

By thepioneerwoman · From Open Recipes · 11 ingredients
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Creamy Cheese Grits with Chilies

Why it works: Cheese and cream cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 473 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Creamy Cheese Grits with Chilies

Serves 8
Prep5 min
Cook45 min

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

326Calories
17 gProtein
25 gFat
10 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Cream Cheese1 oz (28g)99
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

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

By thepioneerwoman. 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. Cheese + cream cheesetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together473 recipes

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

  2. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

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

  3. Tomato + cheesetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,896 recipes

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

  4. Cheese + peppertop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,861 recipes

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

  5. Tomato + cream cheesetop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together446 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

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

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cheese, cream cheese, pepper, egg):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Chivefits better
  3. Spinachfits about as well
  4. Tomatothe original

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