Why it works: Butter and cheese 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 hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Sift the baking powder with the flour and salt.
Mix in the butter and grated cheese.
Add enough water to form a dough that can be rolled out.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough and cut it into strips.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) until light brown.
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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Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + cheesetop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,860 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter 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
- Magic baking powder
- Releases gas in the dough so the straws rise and turn light rather than dense.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the gluten structure that holds the dough together and gives the straws their body.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderises the dough and contributes to a crisp, flaky texture.
- Grated cheese
- Provides rich flavour and fat, and browns in the oven to give the straws their colour.
The step that matters
Bake until light brown. Baking in a hot oven sets the dough quickly while the leavening is active. Pulling the straws when they are only lightly browned keeps them crisp; further baking dries them out and darkens the cheese, which can turn bitter.
“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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