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 Straws
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
On a pastry board, place the flour and make a hole in the center.
Add the cream, grated cheese, coarse sea salt, cayenne pepper, and beaten egg yolks.
Mix all ingredients to a smooth paste using your fingers.
Roll out the mixture to a thickness of ¼ inch.
Bake and serve
Cut into narrow straws and place on a buttered baking pan.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until light brown.
Serve quickly on a hot napkin.
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.
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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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cheese + peppertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,861 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Forms the main structure of the dough, holding the straws together as they bake.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and binding, helping the paste hold together and brown lightly.
- Grated cheese
- Adds savory flavor and fat, and browns as the straws bake.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and fat, making the paste smooth and easy to roll.
The step that matters
Bake until light brown. Baking only until light brown keeps the straws crisp and tender. Over-baking dries the cheese and starch, making them hard and bitter.
“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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