Why it works: Milk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Cheese Custard
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Combine 1 pint cold milk, 1 tablespoon flour, and a pinch of salt in a saucepan.
Cut up the cheese and place it in the saucepan with the other ingredients.
Bring gently to the boil, stirring all the time.
Let it boil a few minutes.
Serve
Toast the bread until nice and ready.
Pour the custard over the toast and serve hot.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, which thickens and carries the cheese.
- Flour
- Thickens the liquid as its starch swells when heated, giving the custard body.
- Cheese (in the method)
- Melts into the sauce, adding rich flavour and a creamy texture.
The step that matters
Bringing to the boil while stirring. Flour starch thickens only as the mixture heats, and constant stirring spreads heat evenly and prevents lumps and scorching on the base of the saucepan.
“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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