Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. 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
Sift the flour onto a clean surface and make a well in the center.
Add the egg yolk (or cream), grated cheese, butter, salt, white pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg into the well.
Mix the ingredients with your fingers until a smooth paste forms. If too dry, add a little cold milk or water.
Roll out the paste to ⅛ inch thick.
Shape and bake
Cut the rolled paste into strips about 6 inches long using a sharp knife or pastry wheel.
Place the strips on a buttered baking pan, leaving space between them.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for a few minutes, watching carefully to prevent browning.
Once slightly hardened, let them cool on the pan before transferring to a serving dish.
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 + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cheese + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the structure of the paste that holds the straws together.
- Egg yolk or cream
- Adds richness and binds the dough into a smooth, pliable paste.
- Dry rich cheese
- Provides the main savory flavor and a crisp, golden texture after baking.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a crisp, short texture.
The step that matters
Watching the bake. The straws are thin and brown quickly, and cheese browns and then turns bitter when overbaked. Checking them closely keeps them pale, crisp, and flavorful.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, egg, cheese, butter, pepper, nutmeg, milk):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, egg, cheese, butter, pepper, nutmeg, milk. 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.
More cheese straws recipes
You might also like
Cheese Balls97 recipes
Cheese Cake55 recipes
Cream Cheese46 recipes
Lemon Pie37 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.