Why it works: Milk and cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,426 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Cheese Au Gratin
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the mixture
Separate the egg whites and yolks.
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
In another bowl, mix the yolks with the milk.
Gently fold the yolk mixture into the beaten egg whites.
Add the grated cheese, salt, and cayenne pepper, and mix gently.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) until set, without moving the pan.
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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Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + peppertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,861 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together26,984 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Egg + cheesetop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,253 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Whipped whites trap air for lift, and the yolks set into a rich, tender structure.
- Milk
- Adds moisture to the yolks, keeping the gratin soft and creamy as it bakes.
- Grated cheese
- Melts and firms as it heats, adding flavor, fat, and browning on the surface.
The step that matters
Folding the yolk mixture into the beaten whites. Stirring vigorously deflates the whipped egg whites, losing the air that gives the gratin its lift. Fold gently with a spatula so the foam stays intact.
“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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