Name: Smoked Macaroni & Cheese
Ingredients: 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter; 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; 3 1/2 cups milk; 1 Tbs. tomato paste; 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese; 2 cups shredded smoked Gouda cheese; Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste; Pinch of cayenne pepper; 4 oz. crustless country-style bread; 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted; 1 lb. rigatoni, cooked until al dente and drained

Why it works: Cheddar cheese and cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 984 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Cheddar cheese + cheesetop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together984 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together2,130 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Flavor stand-ins for the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, milk, cheddar cheese, cheese, pepper, bread):

Potatobetter flavor fit
Capsicumabout as good a flavor fit
Tomatothe original
Chiveabout as good a flavor fit

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, milk, cheddar cheese, cheese, pepper, bread. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

Smoked Macaroni & Cheese