Name: Cauliflower Au Parmesan
Ingredients: 1 head cauliflower; ½ pint Parmesan Sauce; grated Parmesan cheese

Why it works: Cauliflower and parmesan cheese work together. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 138 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Cauliflower Au Parmesan

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower
½ pint Parmesan Sauce
grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook the cauliflower until tender.
Pour ½ pint of Parmesan Sauce over the cooked cauliflower.
Sprinkle the top with grated Parmesan cheese instead of breadcrumbs.

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.

Cauliflower + parmesan cheesetop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together138 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Sauce + parmesan cheesetop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,294 recipes

Shared aroma: decanoic acid (soapy, waxy).
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 bulk of the dish, softening into a tender base when cooked.
Parmesan sauce: Adds moisture and creamy richness that coats the cooked cauliflower.
Grated parmesan cheese: Browns on top and adds salty, savoury flavour.