Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Deviled Eggs on Toast
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the filling
Remove the yolks from the hard-boiled eggs and place them in a bowl.
Add the mustard, olive oil, and seasonings to the yolks and mix until smooth.
Make the white sauce
In a chafing dish, combine the milk, butter mixed with flour, finely chopped egg whites, and salt.
Stir the mixture steadily until it is boiling hot.
Assemble and serve
Spread the yolk mixture over slices of buttered toast.
Top the toast with cheese.
Pour the hot white sauce over the toast before serving.
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.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Mustard + olivetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,950 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
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
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Yolks form the creamy, rich filling while chopped whites add body to the sauce.
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavor, and with flour forms the base that thickens the sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk and butter into a smooth white sauce as it heats.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid of the white sauce, giving it a smooth, creamy texture.
- Grated cheese
- Melts over the hot toast and adds savory flavor.
The step that matters
Stir the white sauce steadily until boiling hot. Flour thickens milk only when it is heated and stirred, so stirring keeps it smooth and prevents lumps from forming on the bottom of the pan.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, milk, flour, cheese, olive, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, milk, flour, cheese, olive, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Macaroni and Cheese102 recipes
Cheese Making50 recipes
Cheese Fritters34 recipes
Cheese Omelette31 recipes