Why it works: Cream and butter 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 Omelet
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Whisk the eggs well.
Add the cheese, cream, and a little salt and pepper.
Cook and serve
Heat the clarified butter in an omelette pan.
Pour in the egg mixture and stir over the heat until the eggs begin to set.
Fold one half over the other or fold the sides towards the middle.
Allow the omelet to brown slightly, then turn it onto a hot dish 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.
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 + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Parmesan cheese + buttertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,163 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Parmesan cheese + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,322 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Parmesan cheese + creamtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,566 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set into the structure of the omelette as they cook.
- Parmesan cheese
- Adds savory flavor and a little browning as it melts.
- Cream or milk
- Adds moisture, keeping the omelette tender rather than dry.
- Clarified butter
- Cooks the omelette without burning and adds rich flavor.
The step that matters
Stir until the eggs begin to set, then stop. Eggs set quickly once heated, and overcooking them makes the omelette tough and dry. Removing it while the centre is still slightly moist keeps it tender.
“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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