Why it works: Almond and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,673 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Asparagus Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Make a thick white sauce using asparagus juice, sweet milk, flour, and butter, then add cheese.
Cut asparagus into three pieces.
Assemble and bake
Put in a baking pan, cover with cheese sauce, and add almonds cut into two or three strips.
Sprinkle top with soft breadcrumbs and bits of butter, run over to season and brown.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Cheese | 1 oz (28g) cheddar | 113 |
| Almond | 1 almond (1.2g) | 7 |
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.
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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Almond + flourtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,673 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cheese + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Almond + milktop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Cheese + almondtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together284 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-methylbutanol (malty, whiskey).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Flour
- Thickens the milk and asparagus juice into a smooth, sauce-like structure.
- Sweet milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce and keeps the cheese layer moist and creamy.
- Yellow cheese
- Melts into the sauce, adding richness, savoury flavour and a smooth, stretchy texture.
- Blanched almonds
- Adds crunch and a nutty flavour that contrasts with the soft sauce.
The step that matters
Making the thick white sauce. Flour must be cooked briefly in the melted butter before the liquid is added, and the liquid stirred in gradually. This lets the starch swell evenly and thicken without lumps, so the sauce coats the asparagus smoothly once the cheese is stirred in.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cheese, milk, flour):
- Almondthe original
- Walnutfits about as well
- Beansfits about as well
- Chestnutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against cheese, milk, flour. 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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