Name: Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients: Macaroni; Cheese; Potato Chips; Bread; Berries; Chocolate Cake; Tea

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 ↓

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

Directions

Cook macaroni according to package instructions until al dente.
Drain and mix with grated cheese until melted and creamy.
Serve with potato chips on the side.
Add slices of bread and fresh berries to the plate.
Finish with a slice of chocolate cake and a cup of tea.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,130 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Chocolate + teatop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together163 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Bread + teatop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together383 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Cheese + chocolatetop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together247 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (buttery, creamy).
Bread + chocolatetop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together231 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).