Why it works: Butter and cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,962 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Fondue or Cheese Souffle
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.
Make the base
Melt the butter in a saucepan.
Add the cheese and stir until melted and smooth.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into a baking dish.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until puffed and golden.
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.
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 + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 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
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, helping the base taste smooth and savory.
- Cheese
- Provides the main flavor and, once melted, gives the base its body.
The step that matters
Serve immediately after baking. A soufflé puffs because trapped steam and expanding air hold it up while hot. As it cools, the steam condenses and the structure collapses, so it sinks quickly if left to wait.
“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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