Why it works: Egg and bread match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 22,584 recipes mention both. Both carry (e)-2-octenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
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
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Boil potatoes until tender, then mash them.
Chop onions and sauté in butter until golden.
Make the custard
In a bowl, combine eggs, cream, bouillon, rice, sautéed onions, and mashed potatoes.
Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and powdered sugar.
Bake and serve
Pour mixture into greased baking dish.
Sprinkle grated Swiss cheese and toasted bread crumbs on top.
Bake for about 1 hour 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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Egg + breadtop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together22,584 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Potato + oniontop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together9,019 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Butter + breadtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together27,145 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + swiss cheesetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together412 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + creamtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together41,494 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set the mixture into a custard that holds its shape when baked.
- Potatoes
- Add body and starch, giving the custard a soft, creamy texture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavor, and browns the onions as they sauté.
- Cream
- Adds fat and moisture, keeping the custard tender and silky.
- Onions
- Contribute savory sweetness and aroma once softened and golden.
- Swiss cheese
- Melts and browns on top, adding nutty flavor and a golden crust.
The step that matters
Bake until just set. Eggs thicken as they heat, and overbaking makes the custard grainy, watery and rubbery. Pull it out once the center is barely wobbly and the top is golden.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, potato, rice, butter, cream, swiss cheese, bread):
- Asparagusbetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
- Tomatoabout as good a flavor fit
- Chiveabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, potato, rice, butter, cream, swiss cheese, bread. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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.
You might also like
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
IllustrationThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.