Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Cheese Souffle
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the base
Mix the cornstarch with a little cold milk.
Boil the remaining milk, then add the moistened cornstarch and cook for a few minutes.
Stir in the pepper, salt, cayenne, butter, bicarbonate of soda, and cheese.
Bake and serve
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for fifteen minutes and serve immediately.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (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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Cheese + peppertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,861 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the milk into a smooth, stable base that holds the souffle's structure.
- Cheese
- Adds rich flavour and fat, giving the souffle its savoury taste.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smoother, more tender texture.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the cornstarch thickens into a custard.
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Reacts to lift the base and help the souffle rise in the oven.
The step that matters
Cook the cornstarch in the milk. The mixture must simmer for a few minutes so the starch fully gelatinises and thickens. Undercooked starch leaves a raw, pasty taste and a base too loose to support the rise.
“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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