Name: Imitation Cheese
Ingredients: 5 ea. (750g–1kg) large, hard boiling potatoes; 20 ml soy sauce or yeast extract; 20 ml margarine or rapeseed oil; Corn flour or breading mixture; Any of the following optional ingredients: Salt or celery salt Bear's garlic or garlic Herbs , e.g. paprika , thyme , rosemary , cumin , oregano and savory Onions Taco seasoning mix (e.g. corn flour, salt, chili , onion, garlic, paprika, sodium glutamate ) 1–3 g chili seasoning mix (e.g. chilies, or; Salt or celery salt; Bear's garlic or garlic; Herbs , e.g. paprika , thyme , rosemary , cumin , oregano and savory; Onions; Taco seasoning mix (e.g. corn flour, salt, chili , onion, garlic, paprika, sodium glutamate ); 1–3 g chili seasoning mix (e.g. chilies, orange zest , sesame , paprika, celery , and mustard ); 1–5 g vegetable stock; Unrefined sugar (or sugar not refined using the char method); Pepper; 10 ml vinegar

Why it works: Thyme and rosemary match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,340 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. 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.

Thyme + rosemarytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,340 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Rosemary + cumintop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together99 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Celery + thymetop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,193 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Thyme + cumintop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together349 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

What each ingredient does

Potatoes: Starch that mashes into a firm, malleable base that can be pressed into shape.
Soy sauce or yeast extract: Adds savoury, umami flavour that gives the mixture a cheese-like taste.
Margarine or rapeseed oil: Adds fat, which softens the texture and makes the mash smoother.
Corn flour: Thickens the mash so it holds its shape when pressed.

The step that matters

Boil potatoes until they are not quite done. Potatoes that are overcooked absorb too much water and turn watery and slack, so the mash will not hold a firm shape when pressed. Slightly underdone potatoes are drier and starchier, giving a firmer base.

Swap the celery

The recipe marks celery as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, sauce, corn, garlic, thyme, rosemary, cumin):

Oreganofits better
Marjoramfits better
Parsleyfits better
Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, sauce, corn, garlic, thyme, rosemary, cumin. 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
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Sesame	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Rosemary	1 tsp dried (1.2g)	4
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Rapeseed Oil	not in our table	0
Savory	not in our table	0
Taco	not in our table	0

Imitation Cheese