Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Cheese Omelette
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
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, combine the grated cheese and cracker crumbs.
Add melted butter and mix well.
In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and whites separately.
Make the mixture
Fold the beaten egg whites into the cheese mixture.
Add milk to moisten and season with salt.
Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish.
Bake
Bake in the preheated oven until set and golden.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cheese + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 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
- Whites are beaten and folded in for lift, while yolks add richness and help set the custard.
- Grated cheese
- Provides flavor and fat, and its proteins help the mixture set when baked.
- Cracker crumbs
- Add bulk and starch that absorb moisture and give the dish a light, tender body.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for richness, moisture and a smoother texture in the baked mixture.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Egg whites hold air only when beaten to peaks. Folding gently keeps that air in, so the dish rises and stays light instead of deflating into a dense mass.
“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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