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 ↓
Cheese Fondu
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the custard
Soak the bread crumbs in the milk to prevent curdling.
Beat in the whipped eggs and melted butter.
Add pepper, salt, and grated cheese, mixing well.
Bake and serve
Butter a baking dish and pour the mixture into it.
Sprinkle dry bread crumbs on top.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until golden brown.
Serve immediately in the baking dish.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Bread + cheesetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,130 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + cheesetop 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
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and set into a tender, custard-like structure when baked.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb the milk and thicken the mixture, giving it body.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base that the eggs set in, keeping the custard moist.
- Grated cheese
- Adds rich flavor and fat, and melts into the custard for a creamy texture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, contributing flavor and a tender texture.
The step that matters
Soak the bread crumbs in the milk. Soaking lets the crumbs absorb the milk before the eggs go in, which helps prevent the egg proteins from curdling into lumps and gives an even, smooth custard.
“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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