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Cheesecakes, Savoury

A baked savory cheesecake made with curd, butter, eggs, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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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 ↓

Cheesecakes, Savoury

Oven, in the book's wordsA good oven

Ingredients

Directions

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

Prepare the filling

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

  2. In a bowl, mix the curd, butter, egg yolks, and beaten egg whites until well combined.

  3. Pass the mixture through a coarse sieve.

  4. Add the grated Parmesan, salt, and pepper, and mix well.

Fill and bake

  1. Line tartlet tins with pastry crust.

  2. Fill the tins three-quarters full with the mixture.

  3. Bake for about 20 minutes until set and golden.

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.

  1. Butter + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,163 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Parmesan cheese + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,322 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  3. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Egg + parmesan cheesetop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,368 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  5. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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 filling and gives it a soft, creamy texture.
Egg yolks
Enrich the filling and help it set into a custard-like texture when baked.
Egg whites
Add structure and lightness so the filling holds its shape as it sets.
Butter
Adds richness and fat, contributing to a smooth, tender texture.
Parmesan cheese
Adds savory, salty flavour and helps the filling brown lightly in the oven.

The step that matters

Filling the tins three-quarters full. Eggs expand as they bake, so overfilling can cause the filling to spill over. Leaving room lets it rise and set evenly without overflowing.

“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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