Why it works: Cheese and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,130 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Cheese Balls
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
In a bowl, combine grated cheese, egg whites, Worcestershire sauce, and salt.
Add enough bread crumbs to hold the mixture together.
Form the mixture into balls and roll them in additional bread crumbs.
Fry
Heat oil in a pan and fry the cheese balls 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,130 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Cheese + saucetop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,987 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sauce + breadtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,934 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Cheese + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,253 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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 flavour and fat, and melts to give the centre a rich texture.
- Egg whites
- Bind the mixture and help it set when heated.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb moisture to firm up the mixture and form a crisp, browned coating.
The step that matters
Frying the cheese balls until golden brown. Frying at the right heat browns the outside quickly while the cheese inside softens and melts. If the oil is too cool, the balls absorb grease and may open or leak cheese; if too hot, the outside burns before the centre warms through.
“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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