Why it works: Cheese and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,130 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Cheese and Hominy Fondue
Ingredients
Directions
Make the fondue
In a double boiler, combine the cooked hominy, eggs, grated cheese, and skimmed milk.
Cook over hot water until the cheese is melted and the mixture is smooth.
Serve
Serve the fondue on toasted brown bread.
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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Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,130 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set the mixture into a thick, custard-like texture as they heat.
- Grated cheese
- Melts into the mixture to give the fondue its rich flavor and creamy body.
- Cooked hominy
- Adds bulk and a soft, starchy body to the fondue.
- Skimmed milk
- Provides liquid that keeps the fondue smooth and pourable.
The step that matters
Cook over hot water until smooth. Gentle indirect heat from the double boiler keeps the eggs from scrambling while the cheese melts. Direct high heat can curdle the eggs and make the cheese grainy or oily.
“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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