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Cauliflower Cheese

Roasting the cauliflower rather than boiling it will intensify the flavour and lend a delicious sweetness to the dish. Adding mustard to the sauce adds a depth of flavour that means the recipe needs less cheese than normal.

By bbcfood · From Open Recipes · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Cauliflower and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 687 recipes. Both carry trans-2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. The science ↓

Cauliflower Cheese

Serves 4
Prep30 min
Cook1 hr

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1005Calories
42 gProtein
39 gFat
122 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Skimmed Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Broccoli1 cup chopped (156g)55
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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

By bbcfood. 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. Cauliflower + mustardtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together687 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,623 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Nutmeg + mustardtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,019 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

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

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cauliflower, pepper, butter, flour, nutmeg, milk):

  1. Spinachfits better
  2. Shallotfits better
  3. Leekfits better
  4. Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cauliflower, pepper, butter, flour, nutmeg, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.