Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
2. Cottage Cheese.
Ingredients
Directions
Make the curd
Use sour milk that has set.
Warm the milk slowly until the whey begins to separate from the curd; avoid overheating to prevent curd from becoming tough.
Place a piece of cheesecloth over a bowl, pour in the curds and whey, and lift the cloth carefully, allowing the whey to run through.
Squeeze out the remaining whey.
Season and serve
Add salt to taste, cayenne pepper or paprika if liked.
Optionally add a tablespoonful of butter or two tablespoonfuls of cream to a pint of the curd.
Add the seasoning and other ingredients to the curd, shape into balls, and chill before serving.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| 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.
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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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together21,449 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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
- Curd
- Forms the body of the cheese, giving it a soft, spreadable structure.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a richer, smoother texture and mouthfeel.
- Cream
- Adds fat and moisture, making the curd softer and creamier.
The step that matters
Warm the milk slowly. Heating the milk gently lets the whey separate from the curd. Overheating makes the proteins tighten and the curd turn tough and rubbery.
“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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