Why it works: Cheese and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,962 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Anchovy Straws
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a fairly quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the dough
In a bowl, rub the butter and cheese into the flour.
Season with a dust of curry powder and cayenne.
Moisten the mixture with the beaten egg yolk and anchovy essence. Mix to form a smooth paste.
Shape and bake
Roll out the paste thinly on a floured surface.
Cut into straw shapes and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for about 10 minutes until golden.
Serve like cheese straws.
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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Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + anchovytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,330 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + anchovytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,697 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the paste together when rolled and baked.
- Butter
- Adds fat that makes the straws short and tender rather than tough.
- Grated cheese
- Adds savoury flavour and fat, and browns during baking for golden colour.
- Egg yolk
- Binds the dry mixture into a dough and adds richness.
- Anchovy essence
- Adds a concentrated savoury, salty flavour throughout the dough.
The step that matters
Rolling the paste thinly. Thin straws bake crisp all the way through. Thick pieces stay soft in the centre and can burn at the edges before the middle 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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