Why it works: Cream and cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,655 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Cheese Balls
Ingredients
Directions
To one Neuchatel cheese add 1 teaspoon grated onion, ½ teaspoon lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of cream. Mix well and make into balls an inch through, roll in salted peanuts which have been pounded fine and mix with a little chopped parsley. This makes about fifteen. - Genevieve L. Hull.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Cheese | 1 oz (28g) cheddar | 113 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
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Cream + cheesetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,655 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Onion + cheesetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,849 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,827 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Onion + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,646 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Cheese + lemontop 29% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,154 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Onion and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,827 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
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, cream, cheese):
- Avocadofits better
- Strawberryfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against onion, cream, cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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