Cheese Fondue

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 + cream cheesetop 4% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together473 recipes

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

2. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together27,232 recipes

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

3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

   Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

4. Bread + cheesetop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,130 recipes

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

5. Olive + lemontop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together11,922 recipes

   Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs

Set and thicken the cheese mixture as they cook, giving it a creamy body.

Cheese

Provides the main flavour and melts into a smooth, stretchy base.

Bread crumbs

Absorb milk and butter, adding body and helping the mixture hold together.

Milk

Forms the liquid base that the cheese melts into, keeping the fondue smooth.

The step that matters

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, milk, bread, cheese, cream cheese, mustard, olive):

1. Coconutfits better
2. Figfits better
3. Avocadofits better
4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, milk, bread, cheese, cream cheese, mustard, olive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.