Why it works: Cheese and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,962 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Cheese Stew
Ingredients
Directions
Make the stew
Cut the cheese into small pieces.
In a saucepan, combine the cheese, ale, and butter.
Heat over medium heat, stirring until melted.
Serve
Serve the cheese stew on toast.
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 + 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
- Cheese
- Melts into a smooth, creamy base for the stew.
- Ale
- Thins the melted cheese and adds a malty, savoury flavour.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a glossy, smooth texture as the cheese melts.
The step that matters
Heating the cheese gently. Cheese turns grainy or greasy if it overheats or boils, because its proteins tighten and separate from the fat. Medium heat with steady stirring lets it melt 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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