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 moderate oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
Mix the flour and grated cheese together.
Make a paste with lard as you would for pies.
Roll out the mixture into a thick sheet.
Cut and bake
Cut into strips ½ inch wide and 5 to 6 inches long.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until light brown.
Serve
Serve piled in a log‑cabin shape on a white napkin.
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.
-
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 main structure of the dough, giving the straws body once baked.
- Grated cheese
- Adds rich flavour and fat, and helps the straws brown as they bake.
- Lard
- Adds fat that makes the paste short and tender rather than tough.
The step that matters
Baking until light brown. Thin strips can dry out or darken quickly. Baking only until light brown keeps them crisp and tender while the cheese gives flavour and colour.
“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.
More cheese straws recipes
You might also like
Cheese Balls97 recipes
Cheese Cake55 recipes
Cream Cheese46 recipes
Lemon Pie37 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.