Name: Cajun-Style Mac and Cheese
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 1 pound Rotini Pasta; 3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter; 3 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour; 3 cups Milk; 4 slices American Cheese Singles, Unwrapped; 1-½ cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese; 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper; 1 teaspoon Canola Oil; 4 whole Links Of Andouille Sausage, Diced; 1 whole Onion, Diced; 2 cloves Garlic, Minced; 2 stalks Celery, Diced; 1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Seeds And Ribs Removed, Diced; 1 pinch Salt To Taste

Why it works: Cheese and cheddar 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.

Cheese + cheddar cheesetop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together984 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pasta + flourtop 5% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together659 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Butter + cheddar cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together2,436 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together7,962 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

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

Cajun-Style Mac and Cheese