Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Cheese, Stewed
Ingredients
Directions
Make the cheese sauce
In a saucepan, combine the chopped cheese and butter.
Add enough cream or milk to cover the cheese.
Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the cheese is dissolved.
Finish and serve
Remove from heat for 1-2 minutes and gradually mix in the beaten egg.
Serve hot with toasted bread slices.
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 + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,130 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cheese
- Melts into the liquid to give the dish its rich, savoury flavour and body.
- Butter
- Adds fat for smoothness and a silky mouthfeel as the cheese melts.
- Egg
- Thickens the warm mixture gently as its proteins set with the heat.
The step that matters
Mixing in the egg off the heat. Egg proteins set at high temperatures and can curdle or turn grainy. Removing the pan from the heat and adding the beaten egg gradually lets it thicken the sauce smoothly.
“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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