Why it works: Butter and bread 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 ↓
Toasted Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
Make the cheese mixture
Melt the grated cheese gradually in sweet cream over low heat until hot.
Remove from heat and stir in the egg yolk, butter, and pepper.
Assemble and serve
Toast the bread slices and butter them.
Place the buttered toast on a platter over a dish of hot water.
Spread the cheese mixture over the toast.
Serve immediately.
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.
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,130 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Grated cheese
- Melts into a smooth sauce that sets as it cools, giving the toast its body.
- Sweet cream
- Adds moisture and richness so the cheese melts smoothly without seizing.
- Egg yolk
- Thickens the cheese mixture through its proteins and adds richness.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and flavour, and softens the toast.
The step that matters
Melt the cheese gradually over low heat. High heat or rapid melting can make cheese become grainy or oily as its proteins tighten and separate, so low, gradual heat keeps the sauce smooth.
“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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