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 ↓
Cheese Pudding
Ingredients
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 the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat the yolks of 10 eggs and the whites of 2 eggs until light.
Make the pudding
Mix the beaten eggs with the grated cheese.
Add the softened butter and cream, and mix well.
Stir in the grated bread.
Pour the mixture into a buttered dish, optionally lined with puff pastry.
Bake and serve
Bake for 30 minutes.
Before serving, grate Parmesan cheese over the top.
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 + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,130 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
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
- Eggs
- Yolks and whites set the custard, giving the pudding its structure as it bakes.
- Good cheese
- Provides the main flavour and, as it melts, richness and body to the pudding.
- Fresh butter
- Adds fat for a rich, tender texture and smooth mouthfeel.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and fat, keeping the custard soft and creamy.
- Grated bread
- Soaks up liquid and helps the mixture hold its body while baking.
The step that matters
Beat the eggs until light. Beating incorporates air and evenly blends the yolks and whites, so the custard bakes smooth and light rather than dense or uneven.
“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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