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
Ingredients
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Add the macaroni and cook until tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.
Drain the macaroni and briefly rinse it in cold water to prevent sticking.
Dress the macaroni with butter and cream, cheese, tomatoes, or gravies as desired.
For a variation, scallop with oysters or cooked meat.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,163 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Parmesan cheese + tomatotop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,490 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + oystertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,184 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Butter + meattop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,594 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Macaroni
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooked until tender enough to eat.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel to the pasta.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, coating the pasta for a softer texture.
- Parmesan cheese or american cheese
- Adds savory flavor and creaminess as it melts into the pasta.
The step that matters
Rinsing the macaroni after draining. Rinsing in cold water stops residual cooking and washes off surface starch, which helps prevent the pasta from sticking together. Drain well, though, so excess water does not dilute the butter, cream, and cheese.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, cream, parmesan cheese, meat, oyster):
- Potatofits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Onionfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, cream, parmesan cheese, meat, oyster. 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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