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Macaroni and Cheese

A baked macaroni dish layered with cheese, butter, and cracker crumbs, finished with cream or milk.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Macaroni and Cheese

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 ↓

Macaroni and Cheese

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.

Prepare the macaroni

  1. Break the macaroni into 1-2 inch pieces.

  2. Cook the macaroni in boiling water with salt for about 20 minutes.

  3. Drain the macaroni well.

Assemble the dish

  1. Layer macaroni in a well-buttered pudding dish.

  2. Add grated cheese, small pieces of butter, and a bit of salt.

  3. Repeat layers until the dish is filled.

  4. Sprinkle the top with a thick layer of cracker crumbs.

  5. Pour cream or milk over the entire dish.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 30 minutes until browned on top.

  2. Serve in the baking dish with a clean napkin pinned around it.

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.

  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).

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 dish and gives it a starchy, chewy structure once cooked and baked.
Grated cheese
Melts into the layers to add richness, savory flavor, and a creamy, binding texture.
Cream or milk
Adds moisture that thickens with the cheese and egg-free starch to form a custard-like sauce.
Cracker crumbs
Form a crisp, browned topping that contrasts with the soft layers beneath.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, and helps the top brown during baking.

The step that matters

Drain the macaroni well. Excess cooking water left on the pasta dilutes the cream and cheese, so the sauce can turn thin and watery instead of coating the layers as it bakes.

“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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