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Macaroni and Cheese

A baked macaroni and cheese layered with pasta, cheese, butter, and cracker crumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 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.

Cook 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 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 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. Cheese + buttertop 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 firm, starchy structure.
Grated cheese
Melts into the cream to create a rich, creamy sauce that binds the layers.
Cream or milk
Provides moisture and richness that cooks into a custard-like sauce around the pasta.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, and helps the top brown in the oven.
Cracker crumbs
Form a crisp, browned topping that contrasts with the soft layers below.

The step that matters

Pour cream or milk over the entire dish. The liquid must reach down between the layers so the cheese and pasta can set into a cohesive, creamy sauce rather than drying out or separating during baking.

“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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