Name: Cheese Straws
Ingredients: 2 ounces butter; 2 ounces of grated cheese; 2 eggs; one well beaten; cayenne; pepper; salt

Why it works: Butter and cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,962 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Cheese Straws

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

Break into 1 pound flour and 2 ounces butter, and rub with hands to a smooth paste.
Add 2 ounces grated cheese, the yolks of 2 eggs, and the white of one well beaten egg; season with cayenne pepper and salt; mix thoroughly.

Shape and bake

Roll out to 1 inch thick, and put on a well buttered tin.
Cut into very narrow strips 4 or 5 inches long.
Bake in a moderate oven for 5 minutes until golden brown.

Serve

Serve hot, taking care not to break them when taking from the pan.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

305Calories

14 gProtein

27 gFat

4 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cayenne	1 tsp (1.8g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Martin, Maria Ewing, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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.

Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,962 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Cheese + peppertop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,861 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together85,593 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Cheese + eggtop 28% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,253 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Flour (in the method): Forms the main structure that holds the straws together as they bake.
Butter: Rubbed into the flour to tenderise the dough and add richness.
Cheese: Adds savoury flavour and fat, and helps the straws brown.
Eggs: Bind the dough and add richness and structure to the straws.