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Cheese Fondu

A baked cheese fondue made with bread crumbs, milk, eggs, butter, cheese, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Bread and butter 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 Fondu

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

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.

Prepare the custard

  1. Soak the bread crumbs in the milk.

  2. Beat in the whipped eggs, melted butter, dissolved baking soda, pepper, and salt.

  3. Stir in the grated cheese.

Bake and serve

  1. Butter a baking dish.

  2. Pour the mixture into the dish.

  3. Sprinkle dry bread crumbs over the top.

  4. Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until browned.

  5. Serve immediately, as it will fall if left to stand.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Bread + cheesetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,130 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  5. Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,426 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
Set the mixture into a custard structure as they cook, giving the fondue its body.
Bread crumbs
Soak up the milk and add body, giving the custard a softer, more tender crumb.
Grated cheese
Adds rich flavor and fat, and firms up as it melts and bakes.
Milk
Provides the liquid that gives the custard its moisture and creamy texture.
Baking soda
Raises the alkalinity of the mixture, helping it brown and lightening its texture.

The step that matters

Serve immediately. The baked custard is set by the eggs and puffed by air and steam; once out of the oven it cools and contracts, so it falls if it stands. Serving straight away keeps it light.

“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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