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 ↓
Macaroni and Cheese Loaf
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the sauce
Cook the macaroni according to package instructions; drain.
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and mustard powder; cook for 1 minute.
Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly until thickened.
Remove from heat and stir in the cheese until melted.
Combine and bake
Combine the cheese sauce with the macaroni and mix well.
Add the beaten egg and mix until combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30-40 minutes until set.
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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Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cheese + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + mustardtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,805 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
- Macaroni
- Forms the bulk of the loaf and gives it body once bound together.
- Cheese
- Provides rich flavour and melts into the sauce for a creamy texture.
- Milk
- Forms the base of the sauce, which thickens as it is stirred with the roux.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness and forms the base of the roux with the flour.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce when cooked with butter, giving it body.
- Egg
- Sets when baked, binding the loaf so it holds its shape when sliced.
The step that matters
Thickening the milk into the roux. Adding milk too quickly or without constant stirring can leave lumps, since flour needs to be evenly dispersed before the starch swells. Gradual addition with steady stirring gives a smooth sauce that thickens properly.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cheese, milk, butter, flour, pepper, egg):
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cheese, milk, butter, flour, pepper, egg. 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.
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