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Bbillat Savabin's Fondue

A fondue made by whisking eggs with grated Gruyère, butter, salt, and pepper, then heating until thick.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Cheese and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,962 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Bbillat Savabin's Fondue

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Weigh the eggs in their shells.

  2. Measure ⅓ of their weight in Gruyère cheese.

  3. Measure 1/6 of the cheese's weight in butter.

Cook and serve

  1. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them well.

  2. Add the grated cheese and small pieces of butter to the eggs.

  3. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until thick and soft.

  4. Add salt and a good sprinkling of pepper.

  5. Serve the fondue on a very hot metal plate.

  6. Do not leave the fondue on the fire after it sets to avoid spoiling.

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 + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Cheese + peppertop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,861 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  5. Egg + cheesetop 28% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,253 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Proteins set with gentle heat, giving the fondue its thick, sliceable body.
Gruyère cheese
Melts into the egg, adding savoury flavour and a creamy, stretchy texture.
Butter
Adds richness and a smooth mouthfeel, and keeps the mixture from tasting dry.

The step that matters

Stir until thick and soft, then stop the cooking. Egg proteins set as they heat, and overcooking tightens them further, making the fondue grainy and watery as it separates. Removing it from the heat once it sets keeps it smooth and creamy.

“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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