Why it works: Bread and butter 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 ↓
A 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).
Make the pudding
In a bowl, mix the grated cheese and bread.
Combine the warmed butter and milk, then add to the cheese and bread mixture.
Stir in the beaten eggs and salt until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish.
Bake
Bake for 30 minutes or until set and lightly browned.
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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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,130 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cheese + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 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
- Cheese
- Adds rich flavour and fat, and melts into the custard as it bakes.
- Bread
- Soaks up the milk and gives the pudding body and a soft, crumbly texture.
- Eggs
- Set when heated, binding the pudding into a firm, sliceable custard.
- Milk
- Provides moisture that the bread absorbs and the eggs set within.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smoother, more tender crumb.
The step that matters
Bake until set and lightly browned. Egg proteins set as the pudding heats, so underbaking leaves it runny in the centre while overbaking makes it dry and rubbery. Check that it is firm and just golden at the edges.
“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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