Why it works: Cheese and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,962 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Baked Cheese Pastry
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dish
Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F, Gas Mark 4).
Lightly butter a wide, deep ovenproof dish.
Make the dish the same length and width as a sheet of phyllo.
Layer the pastry
Place a sheet of phyllo pastry in the bottom of the prepared dish.
Brush the sheet with melted butter.
Sprinkle some crumbled white cheese over the sheet.
Continue layering in the same way, ending with a layer of buttered pastry.
Make the custard and bake
Place the eggs, salt, and soda water in a mixing bowl.
Beat the mixture well.
Slowly pour the mixture over the layered cheese and pastry.
Set aside for 10 minutes.
Bake for about 40 minutes until slightly risen and browned.
Remove from the oven.
Set aside to cool for about 30 minutes before serving.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 8 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Cheese | 1 oz (28g) cheddar | 113 |
| Feta Cheese | 1 oz (28g) cheddar | 113 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Pastry | not in our table | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
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.
-
Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Cheese + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,253 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Phyllo pastry
- Forms thin, crisp layers that give the pie its structure and flaky texture.
- Bulgarian white cheese or feta
- Provides salty, tangy flavour and a creamy, savoury filling between the pastry layers.
- Melted butter
- Coats each sheet so it crisps and browns rather than drying out.
- Eggs
- Bind the soda water mixture and set during baking to give a custard-like filling.
- Soda water
- Its carbonation adds lightness, helping the filling puff and rise slightly in the oven.
The step that matters
Pouring the egg mixture over the layers. Pour slowly so the liquid soaks down between the buttered sheets instead of pooling on top. Even distribution lets the eggs set evenly and the pastry brown uniformly.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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