Name: Iiecipe for Cheese Custard
Ingredients: 2 ounces grated parmesan cheese; whites of 3 eggs; ¼ teaspoon pepper; ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt; ¼ teaspoon cayenne; 2 tablespoons milk or cream

Why it works: Parmesan cheese and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,322 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Iiecipe for Cheese Custard

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Make the custard

In a bowl, combine the grated parmesan cheese, beaten egg whites, pepper, coarse sea salt, cayenne, and milk or cream, and mix until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish.

Bake

Bake for 15 minutes or until set.

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.

Parmesan cheese + peppertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,322 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Parmesan cheese + milktop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,608 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together88,785 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Parmesan cheese + eggtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,368 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Pepper + milktop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together26,984 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Parmesan cheese: Provides savoury flavour and fat, and its proteins help the custard set firm when baked.
Egg whites: Coagulate when heated, giving the custard its structure and set texture.
Milk or cream: Adds moisture and softness, keeping the custard tender rather than rubbery.

The step that matters

Bake until just set. Egg proteins set as they heat, and overbaking squeezes out liquid and makes the custard tough and rubbery. Check for a firm centre at the end of the time given.

“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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Iiecipe for Cheese Custard