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 ↓
Ramakins, Fried
Ingredients
Directions
Make the cheese mixture
Combine cheese and butter in a clean saucepan and heat gently until melted.
Let the mixture cool for 1–2 minutes, then stir in the beaten egg whites briskly.
Fry and serve
Add a little hot butter to a frying pan and place the squares of bread in it.
Spread the cheese mixture on the bread and fry for 5 minutes.
Drain the ramakins from the fat and brown them lightly with a salamander or red‑hot iron.
Serve very hot.
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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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).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rich cheese
- Provides the main flavour and, when melted, the rich body of the mixture.
- Fresh butter
- Carries the cheese smoothly when melted and adds richness and browning in the pan.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to a firm froth, they lighten the cheese mixture and help it set as it cooks.
The step that matters
Stirring in the egg whites. If the cheese mixture is too hot, the beaten egg whites can cook and deflate, so cooling it briefly first keeps the mixture light and airy.
“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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