Why it works: Flour and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Cheese Ramekins
Ingredients
Directions
Mix and shape
In a bowl, mix the grated cheese with salt and cayenne pepper.
Fold in the beaten egg whites gently.
Shape the mixture into balls, using about 1 tablespoon for each.
Coat and fry
Roll the balls in breadcrumbs.
Fry the balls in hot oil until golden brown.
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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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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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cheese + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,253 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Cheese + flourtop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,860 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Grated cheese
- Provides the main body, richness and flavor, and melts to a soft, creamy center.
- Egg whites
- Bind the cheese and add lightness, helping the balls hold their shape.
- Flour
- Absorbs moisture and helps the mixture bind so the balls hold together.
- Breadcrumbs
- Form a crisp, golden-brown coating that browns in the hot oil.
The step that matters
Frying in hot oil. Oil that is hot enough sets the breadcrumb coating quickly, so it browns and crisps without absorbing much grease. If the oil is too cool, the coating soaks up oil and the melting cheese can leak out before the outside sets.
“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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