Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Cheese Straws
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
Place the flour on a clean surface and make a hole in the center.
Add the cream, grated cheese, butter, salt, Cayenne pepper, and beaten egg yolks into the hole.
Mix all ingredients with your fingertips until a smooth paste forms.
Shape and bake
Roll out the paste to ¼ inch thick and cut into narrow straws.
Bake on a buttered pan in a 350°F (175°C) oven until light brown.
Serve immediately on a hot 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.
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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + buttertop 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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Cream + cheesetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,655 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 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
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the paste together as it bakes.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and bind the dough, helping it hold its shape.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender, crisp texture and helps the straws brown.
- Dry grated cheese
- Contributes savory flavor and helps the straws brown in the oven.
- Cream
- Adds moisture so the dough comes together into a smooth paste.
The step that matters
Mix until a smooth paste forms. Working the dough too much warms the butter and develops gluten, which can make the straws tough. Mixing just until smooth keeps the butter cool and the texture short and crisp.
“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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