Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Macaroni with 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
Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water for 20 minutes.
Drain the macaroni in a colander and rinse with cold water.
Make the sauce
In a saucepan, melt the butter, then stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
Gradually add the hot milk, stirring until the sauce thickens.
Assemble and bake
In a baking dish, layer grated cheese, macaroni, and sauce, repeating layers.
Top with fine bread crumbs, bits of butter, and additional grated cheese.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
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.
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,130 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 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 and structure of the dish, holding the sauce between its tubes.
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavor to the sauce and helps brown the crumb topping.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce when cooked briefly with the butter.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce, giving it creaminess.
- Grated cheese
- Melts into the sauce to add savory flavor and a stretchy, rich texture.
The step that matters
Gradually add the hot milk, stirring until the sauce thickens. Adding milk slowly while stirring keeps the flour evenly dispersed, preventing lumps. Hot milk also helps the starch thicken smoothly in the sauce.
“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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