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Fondue in Cases

A baked cheese fondue made with Swiss, Parmesan, cream cheese, and eggs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Swiss cheese and cream cheese share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 54 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Fondue in Cases

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Pound the Swiss, Parmesan, and cream cheese in a mortar.

  2. Moisten the mixture with 5 eggs while pounding.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) until the fondue is a rich color.

  2. Serve quickly.

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. Swiss cheese + cream cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together54 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Swiss cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together151 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  3. Parmesan cheese + cream cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together311 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  4. Swiss cheese + eggtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together405 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  5. Parmesan cheese + eggtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,368 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Bind the cheeses into a smooth mixture and help the fondue set as it bakes.
Swiss cheese
Melts into a stretchy, rich base that gives the fondue its flavor.
Parmesan cheese
Adds sharp, salty flavor and helps the fondue brown during baking.
Cream cheese
Adds moisture and creaminess, keeping the fondue smooth rather than grainy.

The step that matters

Bake until a rich color, then serve quickly. Eggs set as they heat, so overbaking can make the fondue dry, rubbery, and curdled. Serving quickly keeps it soft and creamy before it firms up as it cools.

“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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