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 ↓
Cheese Straws
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately cool oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Rub the butter into the flour.
Add the breadcrumbs, cheese, cayenne, and salt.
Mix in just enough cold water to form a stiff paste.
Shape and bake
Roll the paste out to about ½ inch thick.
Cut into strips about 3 inches long and ½ inch wide.
Place the strips on a greased baking sheet.
Bake until crisp, about 30 minutes.
Serve hot or cold.
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.
-
Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cheese + flourtop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,860 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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
- Butter
- Rubbed into the flour to coat it and make the dough short and crumbly.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the paste together when shaped.
- Cheese
- Adds savory flavor and some fat, and helps the straws brown as they bake.
- Breadcrumbs
- Absorb moisture and add body, giving the dough a firmer, crisper texture.
The step that matters
Adding the cold water. Too much water makes the paste sticky and tough, while too little leaves it crumbly and hard to roll. Adding just enough cold water keeps the dough tender and easy to shape.
“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.
More cheese straws recipes
You might also like
Fritters56 recipes
Crisp Crackers7 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.