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Semelroth Favorite Zucchini

A baked zucchini casserole with Colby cheese, cracker crumbs, vegetables, butter, and egg.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Semelroth Favorite Zucchini

Oven325°F
Timeone hour

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Remove the ends of a nice-sized zucchini.

  2. Shred the zucchini, skin and all, using a large-hole grater in a large bowl.

Make the filling

  1. Stir in several cups of grated Colby cheese and 2 cups of crushed soda cracker crumbs.

  2. Mince onion, garlic, and green pepper; cook them in about ½ cup water on the stove until tender.

  3. Salt the zucchini mixture to taste.

  4. Add the cooked pepper mixture to the zucchini mixture.

  5. Melt 1 stick of butter and pour it over the entire mixture.

  6. Beat 1 egg very well and add it to the mixture.

Bake

  1. Transfer the mixture to a buttered casserole dish, top with a few cracker crumbs and a little grated Colby cheese, and bake at 325°F for one hour.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

503Calories
18 gProtein
28 gFat
45 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cracker5 saltine crackers (15g)66
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Cucumber1/2 cup sliced (52g)16
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

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.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,090 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

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

  5. Clove + garlictop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,368 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

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

What each ingredient does

Zucchini
Provides the bulk and moisture that keep the casserole tender.
Cheese
Adds fat and savory flavor, and melts to bind the mixture together.
Soda cracker crumbs
Absorb liquid and give the casserole body and structure as they soften.
Egg
Binds the ingredients and helps the casserole set as it bakes.
Butter
Adds richness and fat, contributing tenderness and a rounded flavor.
Onion and garlic
Add aromatic flavor that deepens as they cook until tender.

The step that matters

Beat the egg very well before adding it. A thoroughly beaten egg distributes evenly through the mixture, so it binds the casserole consistently rather than leaving pockets of unset egg.

Swap the clove

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

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Capersfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cheese, onion, garlic, pepper, butter, egg. 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.

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