Why it works: Cheese and parmesan cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,041 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓
Cheese Fondu
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
Melt the butter in a saucepan.
Stir in the flour and mix thoroughly.
Add the boiling milk and stir, cooking for about 2 minutes until very thick.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Prepare and bake
Work in the egg yolks, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cheeses until well combined.
Butter a pudding dish or several small soufflé cases.
Beat the egg whites until very stiff and fold them into the mixture.
Fill the dish with the mixture and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 to 25 minutes.
Serve immediately; this dish must not stand.
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 + parmesan cheesetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,041 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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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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Nutmeg + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Egg whites beaten stiff trap air, lifting the mixture as it bakes, while yolks enrich and set it.
- Gruyère cheese
- Melts into the base and adds rich savoury flavour and a creamy, stringy texture.
- Parmesan cheese
- Adds sharp, savoury depth and helps the crust brown and the flavour concentrate.
- Butter
- Enriches the base and, with flour, forms the thick roux that gives structure.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk with butter into a roux that gives the base body and holds the air.
- Milk
- Hydrates the roux into a thick white sauce that carries the cheese and eggs.
The step that matters
Fold in the egg whites gently. Stiffly beaten whites hold air that makes the dish rise. Overmixing deflates them, so the soufflé bakes flat and dense.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, egg, cheese, parmesan cheese, butter, milk, pepper):
- Nutmegthe original
- Parsleyfits about as well
- Thymefits less well
- Cinnamonfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, egg, cheese, parmesan cheese, butter, milk, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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