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Cheese Croquettes

Cheese croquettes are fried cheese-filled pastries made with a béchamel-like sauce and breadcrumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Cheese and parmesan cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,041 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Cheese Croquettes

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Make the base

  1. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.

  2. Stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.

  3. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens.

  4. Remove from heat and stir in the egg yolks, followed by the cheese until it begins to soften.

  5. Season with salt, cayenne, and paprika.

  6. Spread the mixture in a well-buttered shallow pan and let it cool.

Shape and fry

  1. Once cooled, cut into strips or squares.

  2. Coat each piece in breadcrumbs, then dip in beaten egg, and coat in breadcrumbs again.

  3. Fry in deep hot oil until golden brown and drain on cheesecloth.

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. Cheese + parmesan cheesetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,041 recipes

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

  2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Butter + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,163 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,426 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

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

What each ingredient does

Butter
Enriches the base and adds richness and flavour to the roux.
Flour
Thickens the milk into a stable sauce that holds the croquettes together.
Milk
Forms the liquid base that thickens with flour into a creamy binder.
Egg yolks
Add richness and help bind the mixture as it sets.
Cheese
Provides the main flavour and melting texture inside the croquettes.

The step that matters

Let the mixture cool fully before shaping. A warm, soft base is too loose to cut and coat cleanly. Cooling lets the starch and egg proteins set so the pieces hold their shape through breading and frying.

“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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