Name: Diabetic-friendly New York-style Cheesecake
Ingredients: 1 1/4 Cups has-ingredient::vanilla wafer Crumbs; 4 Tablespoons has-ignredient::margarine, Melted; 1 Teaspoon has-ingredient::Equal Measure or 3 Packets Equal?; 2 Packages (8 Ounces Each) has-ingredient::reduced-fat cream cheese, softened; 1 Package (8 Ounces) has-ingredient::fat-Free cream cheese, softened; 5 1/2 Teaspoons Equal? Measure or 18 Packets Equal?; 2 has-ingredient::eggs; 2 has-ingredient::egg whites; 2 Tablespoons has-ingredient::cornstarch; 1 Cup has-ingredient::reduced-fat sour cream; 1 Teaspoon has-ingredient::vanilla; 1 Pint has-ingredient::strawberries, Sliced (optional); strawberry Sauce

Why it works: Vanilla and strawberry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,385 recipes. Both carry p-vinylguaiacol, which smells spicy, fruity. The science ↓

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.

Vanilla + strawberrytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,385 recipes

Shared aroma: p-vinylguaiacol (spicy, fruity).
Cream + saucetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,787 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Cream cheese + strawberrytop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together285 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Vanilla + cream cheesetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,929 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Cream + strawberrytop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,525 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Bind the filling and help it set into a firm, sliceable custard.
Egg whites: Add structure and lift to the filling while keeping it lighter.
Cornstarch: Stabilizes the filling so it sets smoothly and resists cracking.
Reduced-fat cream cheese: Provides the creamy body and tangy base of the filling.
Reduced-fat sour cream: Adds moisture and tang, keeping the filling smooth and soft.

The step that matters

Baking the cheesecake in a water bath and cooling it in the oven. Gentle, moist heat from the hot water bath and a slow cool-down with the door ajar keep the eggs from over-setting, which would crack the surface and make the texture grainy.

Swap the strawberry

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

Strawberrythe original
Coconutfits about as well
Raspberryfits about as well
Bananafits less well

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

“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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Cream Cheese	1 oz (28g)	99
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Strawberry	1 cup (152g)	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Sauce	not in our table	0

Diabetic-friendly New York-style Cheesecake