Why it works: Cheese and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,861 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Cheese Balls
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mixture
In a bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff.
Stir in the cornflour, grated cheese, and cayenne pepper.
Fry and serve
Heat the frying fat until hot.
Drop the mixture by teaspoonfuls into the hot fat.
Fry for about 5 minutes until golden, then drain and serve immediately.
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 + peppertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,861 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Egg + cheesetop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,253 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 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
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff foam, they give the balls a light, airy structure.
- Cornflour
- Helps the mixture hold its shape and gives a tender, crisp-set texture when fried.
- Grated cheese
- Adds savoury flavour and browns as the balls fry.
The step that matters
Folding in the cornflour and cheese. Deflating the stiff egg whites too much makes the mixture heavy and flat, so the balls spread and cook dense rather than puffing light.
“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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