Name: Three Cheese and Onion Easter Egg Pie
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Yield: 1 9-inch quiche
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon white sugar; 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces; 2 tablespoons ice water, or as needed; 1 large yellow onion, sliced; 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese; 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese; 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese; 3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced; 1/2 cup half-and-half; freshly ground black pepper to taste; 3/4 cup finely crushed buttery round crackers; 1/4 cup butter, melted

Why it works: Mozzarella 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 1,093 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

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.

Mozzarella cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,093 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Cheddar cheese + mozzarella cheesetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together271 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Cheddar cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together592 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Butter + cheddar cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,436 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,163 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, egg):

Chivefits better
Asparagusfits better
Capsicumfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, butter, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Mozzarella Cheese	1 oz (28g)	85
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

Three Cheese and Onion Easter Egg Pie