Why it works: Cheese and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 28% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,253 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Pastry Ramakins
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the pastry
Gather the remains of light puff pastry and roll it out evenly.
Sprinkle the pastry with grated cheese.
Fold the pastry in thirds, roll it out again, and sprinkle with more cheese.
Repeat the folding and rolling process, then cut into desired shapes with a pastry cutter.
Optionally, brush the shapes with egg yolk before baking for a better appearance.
Bake and serve
Bake in a brisk oven at 400°F (200°C) for 10 to 15 minutes.
Serve quickly on a hot napkin.
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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Cheese + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,253 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
- Remains of light puff pastry
- Provides layered, flaky structure that puffs and separates when baked.
- Grated cheese
- Adds savoury flavour and browns on the surface during baking.
- Yolk of 1 egg
- Brushed on optionally, it promotes a glossy, golden surface when baked.
The step that matters
Bake in a brisk oven. A hot oven makes the pastry's water turn to steam quickly, lifting the layers so they puff and crisp. A cool oven lets the butter leak out before the structure sets, leaving flat, greasy squares.
“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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