Why it works: Parmesan cheese and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,163 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Egg Fondue
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Beat the eggs with a fork until light.
Add the salt, cayenne pepper, and parmesan cheese.
Cook and serve
Heat the butter in a frying pan until hot.
Pour in the egg mixture and stir until thoroughly cooked and smooth.
Serve on squares of buttered toast.
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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Parmesan cheese + buttertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,163 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Parmesan cheese + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,322 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
-
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Egg + parmesan cheesetop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,368 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set into a soft, creamy mass when heated, forming the body of the dish.
- Parmesan cheese
- Adds savory, salty flavor and a little richness to the eggs.
- Butter
- Fat for the pan that keeps the eggs from sticking and adds richness.
The step that matters
Stir the eggs over heat until just set. Eggs turn from creamy to dry and rubbery when overcooked, because the proteins tighten and squeeze out moisture. Stirring gently over moderate heat keeps the curds soft and smooth.
“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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