Why it works: Brie and walnut work together. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 19 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 8Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat, tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Also mentioned in the method: bread
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Arrange the sliced baguette in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake the bread for about 5 minutes, until the edges are golden and the tops are crisp.
Toast the chopped walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until fragrant. Set aside.
Top each toasted baguette slice with a piece of sliced brie and a thin slice of apple.
Return the crostini to the oven for 3 to 4 minutes, until the brie softens and just begins to melt.
Sprinkle the toasted walnuts over the crostini.
Drizzle with the date syrup just before serving, and serve warm.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Brie + walnuttop 9% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together19 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Walnut + datetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together322 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Apple + datetop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together137 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Brie + appletop 7% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together24 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutanol (fusel, malty).
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Apple + walnuttop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,051 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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