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Cauliflower Au Gratin

A baked cauliflower dish topped with white sauce, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt, and cayenne pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Cauliflower and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,113 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Cauliflower Au Gratin

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderately hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the cauliflower

  1. Clean the cauliflower and cook it in boiling salted water until tender.

  2. Drain the cauliflower and place it on a hot vegetable dish.

Top and bake

  1. Pour enough white sauce over the cauliflower to cover the top.

  2. Sprinkle breadcrumbs, a little salt, grated Parmesan cheese, and cayenne pepper on top.

  3. Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until nicely browned.

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.

  1. Cauliflower + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,113 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Parmesan cheese + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,322 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  3. Cauliflower + parmesan cheesetop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together138 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Sauce + parmesan cheesetop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,294 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanoic acid (soapy, waxy).

  5. Cauliflower + saucetop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together463 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cauliflower
Forms the main body of the dish and becomes tender when boiled.
White sauce
Adds moisture and creaminess that coats the cauliflower and keeps it from drying out.
Breadcrumbs
Form a crisp topping that browns in the oven.
Grated parmesan cheese
Melts and browns on top, adding savoury flavour and golden colour.

The step that matters

Bake until nicely browned. The top needs enough oven time for the breadcrumbs and cheese to brown, which is what gives the gratin its crust and flavour. Underbaking leaves a pale, soft top.

Swap the cauliflower

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

  1. Tomatofits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Spinachfits better
  4. Cauliflowerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sauce, parmesan cheese, pepper. 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.

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