Cheese Fritters with Garden Greens

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

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

2. Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together7,962 recipes

   Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

3. Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together4,426 recipes

   Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

4. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Flour + walnuttop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together5,873 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Butter

Adds richness and flavor to the base and helps form a smooth roux with the flour.

Flour

Thickens the milk mixture so it sets firm enough to shape into balls.

Egg yolks

Bind the cheese base and help it set firm when chilled.

Cheese

Provides the main flavor and, once melted, the body that sets when chilled.

Breadcrumbs

Form a crisp, golden coating that browns during frying.

The step that matters

Swap the walnut

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

1. Walnutthe original
2. Almondfits about as well
3. Beansfits less well
4. Chestnutfits less well

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