Name: Cheese Toast
Ingredients: thin slices of bread; prepared mustard; new cheese

Why it works: Bread and cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,130 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Cheese Toast

Ingredients

thin slices of bread
prepared mustard
new cheese

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the toast

Toast the thin slices of bread until nicely browned.
Spread a little prepared mustard over the toast.

Top and bake

Slice the new cheese thin.
Place the sliced cheese on the toast.
Set the toast in a 400°F (200°C) oven until the cheese is melted.

Serve

Serve hot.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

Bread + cheesetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,130 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Mustard + cheesetop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,805 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Bread + mustardtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,484 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Thin slices of bread: Provide the crisp, browned base that holds the topping.
Prepared mustard: Adds sharp, tangy flavour that cuts through the richness of the cheese.
New cheese: Melts into a soft, savoury layer over the toast.

The step that matters

Set the toast in a 400°F (200°C) oven until the cheese is melted. Cheese that is heated too long becomes greasy and tough as its proteins tighten and fat separates, while too little heat leaves it unmelted. Watch for it to just soften and turn glossy.