Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Cheese Sandwich Filling
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the butter in a saucepan, coating the bottom.
Add the cheese and cayenne pepper, stirring constantly until melted.
Gradually mix in the beaten egg yolk diluted with cream.
Stir until smooth and set aside to cool.
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 + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + creamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,655 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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Cheese + peppertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,861 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Adds richness and coats the pan so the cheese melts without sticking.
- Rich eastern cheese
- Melts into a smooth base and supplies most of the flavor and body.
- Egg yolk
- Its proteins thicken and bind the mixture, giving it a creamy texture.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, and thins the yolk so it blends in smoothly.
The step that matters
Mixing in the egg yolk. Egg proteins set when heated, so the yolk can scramble in the warm cheese if added too quickly. Diluting it with cream and adding it gradually while stirring keeps the filling 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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