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 ↓
Fondu Straws
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
Mix the cheese, salt, and cayenne pepper together.
Shape the straws
Sprinkle the mixture over the puff pastry.
Roll the pastry two or three times to incorporate the mixture.
Cut the rolled pastry into narrow strips about five inches long.
Bake and serve
Bake the strips in the preheated oven until golden and serve hot.
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 + peppertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,861 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Puff pastry
- Its layers of butter and dough puff apart in the oven, giving the straws a light, flaky structure.
- Finely grated cheese
- Adds savory flavor and fat, and browns lightly in the oven.
The step that matters
Rolling the pastry into the mixture. Rolling two or three times spreads the cheese, salt, and cayenne evenly through the dough so every straw tastes the same. Work quickly and keep the dough cool, because warm butter in puff pastry melts before it can form layers.
“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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