Name: First Down Fondue or Not
Ingredients: 2 cups (8 ounces) Sargento Fancy Sharp Cheddar shredded cheese; 3 cups (12 ounces) Sargento Fancy Colby Jack shredded cheese; 1 tablespoon cornstarch; 1 Bottle (12 ounces) beer; 1 teaspoon hot pepper Sauce

Why it works: Cheese and beer work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 174 recipes. Both carry 5-ethyl-3-hydroxy-4-methyl-2(5h)-furanone, which smells spice. The science ↓

First Down Fondue or Not

Time2 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups (8 ounces) Sargento Fancy Sharp Cheddar shredded cheese
3 cups (12 ounces) Sargento Fancy Colby Jack shredded cheese
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 Bottle (12 ounces) beer
1 teaspoon hot pepper Sauce

Directions

Prepare

Toss cheeses with cornstarch in medium bowl; set aside.

Make the fondue

Pour beer into fondue pot; bring to boil over high heat.
Reduce heat to low; add cheese mixture.
Cook 2 minutes or until cheese is melted, stirring constantly.
Stir in hot sauce.
Keep fondue over low heat.

Serve

Dip breadsticks and vegetables into fondue.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

730Calories

28 gProtein

20 gFat

101 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Beer	1/4 cup (60ml) for cooking	43
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Sauce	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.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

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 + beertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together174 recipes

Shared aroma: 5-ethyl-3-hydroxy-4-methyl-2(5h)-furanone (spice).
Beer + peppertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together940 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Cheese + peppertop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,861 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Cheese + saucetop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,987 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Pepper + saucetop 27% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together15,303 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Pepper and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,303 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

Cheddar and colby jack cheese: Melt into a smooth, creamy base that coats the dipping foods.
Cornstarch: Stabilizes the melted cheese so it stays smooth and resists separating.
Beer: Adds liquid and flavor, and its acidity helps keep the cheese smooth.

The step that matters

Add the cheese on low heat while stirring constantly. High heat or lack of stirring can cause cheese proteins to tighten and clump or turn grainy, and the fat to separate. Low heat and constant stirring let the cheese melt evenly into a smooth emulsion.

“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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First Down Fondue or Not