Name: Cheese Canapes
Ingredients: stale loaf; butter or oil; mustard; Cheshire or Parmesan cheese

Why it works: Butter and parmesan cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,163 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Cheese Canapes

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

stale loaf
butter or oil
mustard
Cheshire or Parmesan cheese

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Slice the stale loaf into ¼-inch thick slices.
Cut the slices into pieces about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide.
Fry the pieces in hot butter or oil until golden brown.
Spread a thin layer of mustard on each piece.
Top with Cheshire or Parmesan cheese.
Place in a 400°F (200°C) oven until the cheese is melted.
Serve hot.

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.

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 + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,163 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Mustard + parmesan cheesetop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together545 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Butter + mustardtop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,003 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).