Why it works: Flour and cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 29% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,860 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Cheese Straws
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
Add the grated cheese and cold water.
Mix until combined, similar to making pie crust.
Shape and bake
Roll the dough thin and cut into strips about ½ inch wide and 5 inches long.
Bake in a very hot oven at 400°F (200°C) until golden.
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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Flour + cheesetop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,860 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the straws together as they bake.
- Cheese
- Adds rich flavor and fat, and helps the straws brown.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas that lifts the dough, keeping the straws light and crisp.
- Cold water
- Hydrates the flour so the dough comes together into a workable mass.
The step that matters
Mix only until combined. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour, which makes the dough tough and the baked straws hard instead of tender and flaky. Stop as soon as the dough holds together, as with pie crust.
“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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