Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓
Consomme a LA Roy Ale
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the custard
Beat the eggs in a bowl, then add the milk and salt.
Grease a cup with butter and pour the egg mixture into it.
Place the cup in a pan of warm water and cook in a slow oven (300 °F / 150 °C) until firm in the center.
Serve
Let it cool, then cut into small, decorative pieces.
Place the pieces in a tureen and pour the boiling consommé or clear stock over them.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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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 when heated, giving the custard its firm, sliceable structure.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softness, keeping the custard tender rather than rubbery.
- Consommé or clear stock
- Forms the liquid base of the soup and carries the flavor of the dish.
The step that matters
Cooking the custard in a slow oven. Egg proteins set at moderate heat. Too much heat makes the custard curdle, puff and turn rubbery, so it should be cooked gently in warm water until just firm in the center.
“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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