Why it works: Parmesan cheese and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,322 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓
Canape Au Parmesan
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the French roll into rounds ¼ inch thick.
Immerse the rounds in boiling fat until they are crisp and light golden.
Remove the rounds and place them on white paper to dry.
Top and serve
Sprinkle each round with grated Parmesan, pepper, and coarse sea salt.
Place the canapés in a Dutch oven before a clear fire to melt the cheese.
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.
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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Parmesan cheese + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,322 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- French roll
- Forms the crisp base once the rounds are fried.
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Melts and browns on top, adding savory flavor and a golden crust.
The step that matters
Immerse the rounds in boiling fat until crisp and light golden. Frying at the right temperature seals the bread surface quickly, so it crisps without absorbing much fat. Too cool a fat makes the rounds greasy and soft; too hot browns them before they are crisp inside.
“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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