Why it works: Cheese and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,130 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Cheese Ramekins
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the base
In a saucepan, combine the grated cheese, bread crumbs, milk, salt, and paprika.
Cook over medium heat, stirring until well mixed.
Remove from heat and stir in the yolks of the eggs.
Bake
Gently fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites.
Pour the mixture into ramekin dishes.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 10 minutes for small dishes or 20 minutes for large ones.
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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Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,130 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Bread + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 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
- Whites beaten stiff trap air for lift, while yolks add richness and help set the custard.
- Soft cheese
- Melts into the milk mixture, adding flavor, richness and body to the custard.
- Soft bread crumbs
- Absorb milk and thicken the base, giving the bake a softer, more tender texture.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid that cooks with the crumbs and eggs into a creamy custard.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Beaten whites hold air that gives rise. Stirring them in vigorously knocks that air out, so the ramekins bake flatter and denser. Fold gently to keep the lift.
“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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