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Cheese Croquettes

Cheese croquettes are small fried cheese cubes coated in breadcrumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Cheese and gruyere cheese share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 93 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 thickened.

  4. Remove from heat and stir in the egg yolks without beating.

  5. Add the grated cheese and stir until melted.

  6. Fold in the cheese cubes and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne.

Chill and shape

  1. Spread the mixture in a shallow pan and let it cool.

  2. Once cooled, turn it out onto a board and cut into small squares or strips.

Coat and fry

  1. Dip each piece in breadcrumbs, then in beaten egg, and again in breadcrumbs.

  2. Fry in deep fat until golden brown and drain on paper towels.

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 + gruyere cheesetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together93 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 + gruyere cheesetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together323 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).

  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 sauce base and adds rich flavour as it melts with the flour.
Flour
Thickens the milk into a stiff base that holds the croquettes together.
Milk
Forms the liquid of the thick white sauce that the cheese is melted into.
Egg yolks
Add richness and help set the mixture once it is cooled and shaped.
Gruyere cheese
Melts into the sauce to give a strong, nutty cheese flavour.

The step that matters

Stir in the egg yolks without beating. Adding yolks to a hot sauce without vigorous stirring can scramble them or make the base uneven. Stirring gently and off the heat blends them in smoothly, keeping the mixture creamy so it sets firm once cooled.

“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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