Skip to main content

Mini Pistachio Craisin Cheese Balls

What could be better than a bite size cheese ball, especially one that is covered in chopped pistachios and Craisins. Fun to make and even more fun to eat.

By tastykitchen · From Open Recipes · 4 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓
Mini Pistachio Craisin Cheese Balls

Why it works: Goat cheese and cream cheese share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 44 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Mini Pistachio Craisin Cheese Balls

Serves 16
Prep10 min

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

448Calories
15 gProtein
32 gFat
32 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pistachio1 oz (28g / ~49 kernels)159
Goat Cheese1 oz (28g)103
Cream Cheese1 oz (28g)99
Cherry1 cup (138g)87

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

By tastykitchen. 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. Goat cheese + cream cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together44 recipes

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

  2. Cream cheese + pistachiotop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together29 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  3. Goat cheese + pistachiotop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

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

Swap the pistachio

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

  1. Pecansfits better
  2. Walnutfits better
  3. Beansfits better
  4. Pistachiothe original

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