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Breakfast

Eggs a LA Suisse

A baked dish of eggs topped with cheese, cream, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Eggs a LA Suisse

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Spread the bottom of a dish with 2 ounces of fresh butter.

  2. Cover the butter with grated cheese.

  3. Break 8 whole eggs onto the cheese without breaking the yolks.

  4. Season with red pepper and salt if necessary.

  5. Pour a little cream on the surface.

  6. Sprinkle 2 ounces of grated cheese on top.

Bake and brown

  1. Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 15 minutes.

  2. Use a salamander or broiler to brown the top.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Cheese + creamtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,655 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Cheese + peppertop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,861 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set into a firm, sliceable structure as they cook, holding the dish together.
Fresh butter
Adds richness and moisture, and helps the cheese layer crisp at the base.
Grated cheese
Melts into a savoury layer and browns under the broiler for flavour.
Cream
Adds moisture and softness, keeping the surface tender as the eggs set.

The step that matters

Break the eggs onto the cheese without breaking the yolks. Egg proteins set around the yolk as they heat, so a broken yolk spreads and cooks into the whites, changing the look and texture of the finished dish.

“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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