Name: Souffles Au Fromage {Baked Cheese Souffles}
Ingredients: 6 egg yolks; 2 egg whites; 2 oz butter; 4 oz grated parmesan or gruyere cheese; ½ cup cream; salt; pepper; a pinch of cayenne; a pinch of nutmeg

Why it works: Pepper and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,015 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Souffles Au Fromage {Baked Cheese Souffles}

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

In a saucepan, combine egg yolks and butter, stirring over low heat until well mixed but not curdled.
Add cream mixed with flour and stir until combined.
Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold into the mixture.
Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg.
Pour into buttered souffle dishes and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together13,015 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + gruyere cheesetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together323 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,920 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Gruyere cheese + nutmegtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together74 recipes

Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).