Why it works: Cream cheese and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,393 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓
Cream Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the cream cheese into very fine pieces.
Dissolve the cream cheese in a little milk over low heat.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg and dissolve the cornstarch in a little milk.
Combine the egg and cornstarch mixture with enough milk to make 1 cup.
Stir the mixture quickly into the hot cheese and 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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Cream cheese + milktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,393 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Cream cheese + eggtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,549 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cream cheese
- Melts into the milk to form the body and rich flavor of the sauce.
- Egg
- Adds protein that sets and thickens the sauce as it heats.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the liquid into a smooth sauce when heated.
The step that matters
Stir the egg and cornstarch mixture quickly into the hot cheese. Egg proteins can scramble and cornstarch can clump if the mixture is added slowly or the heat is too high. Quick stirring distributes the thickeners evenly, giving a smooth sauce.
“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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