Name: Gnocchi
Ingredients: 1 handful grated Parmesan cheese; 1 teaspoon sugar; grated nutmeg to taste; 1 teacup flour (or a little less); 3 to 4 tablespoons reduced béchamel sauce; 1 pat butter; 1 teacup glaze; equal proportions of grated Parmesan and Gruyère cheese

Why it works: Parmesan cheese and cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,041 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Gnocchi

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

1 handful grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon sugar
grated nutmeg to taste
1 teacup flour (or a little less)
3 to 4 tablespoons reduced béchamel sauce
1 pat butter
1 teacup glaze
equal proportions of grated Parmesan and Gruyère cheese

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.

In a saucepan, reduce the mixture, then add Parmesan cheese, sugar, and nutmeg.
Sprinkle flour on a board, pour the mixture onto it, and work in the flour.
Roll out the dough and cut it into strips double the thickness of macaroni.
Cut each strip into 1-inch long pieces, shape into rounds, and place on a floured sieve.
Plunge the rounds into boiling water and let them bubble up two or three times.
Once firm, drain in a colander and place in another saucepan.
Sprinkle with equal amounts of grated Parmesan and Gruyère cheese.
Pour over the béchamel sauce mixed with butter and glaze.
Line a timbale mold with a thin layer of good paste, pour in the mixture, and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 45 minutes.
Turn out onto a dish, garnish with potato croquettes, and serve.

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.

Parmesan cheese + cheesetop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,041 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Nutmeg + flourtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,623 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,962 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Parmesan cheese + buttertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,163 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 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

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (parmesan cheese, sugar, flour, sauce, butter, cheese):

Capersfits better
Jalapenofits about as well
Nutmegthe original
Cinnamonfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against parmesan cheese, sugar, flour, sauce, butter, cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.