Name: Bahamian Mac
Ingredients: 8 ounces Elbow Macaroni, cooked & drained; 1 tablespoon finely chopped onions; 1 tablespoon finely chopped Green Peppers; 1 tablespoon finely chopped celery; 6 ounces Cheddar Cheese, grated; salt & pepper; 1 tablespoon Evaporated Milk

Why it works: Pepper and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Bahamian Mac

Oven350°

Time20 minutes

Ingredients

8 ounces Elbow Macaroni, cooked & drained
1 tablespoon finely chopped onions
1 tablespoon finely chopped Green Peppers
1 tablespoon finely chopped celery
6 ounces Cheddar Cheese, grated
salt & pepper
1 tablespoon Evaporated Milk

Directions

Make the macaroni mixture

Add the onion, green pepper and celery to the cooked macaroni and stir.
Add half of the cheese and stir over low heat until melted.
Season and stir in evaporated milk.

Bake and serve

Spoon into a well-greased 8x8x2" baking pan and sprinkle remaining cheese evenly over top.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350° for 20 minutes.
Let stand for 10 minutes and cut into squares to serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

324Calories

17 gProtein

18 gFat

27 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Macaroni	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,518 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + cheddar cheesetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,669 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Cheddar cheese + evaporated milktop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together77 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Elbow macaroni: Forms the bulk and structure of the dish, holding the cheese and vegetables together.
Cheddar cheese: Melts into the mixture to make it creamy and rich, then browns on top.
Evaporated milk: Adds moisture and creaminess so the cheese sauce coats the pasta.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, celery, cheddar cheese, evaporated milk):

Capsicumfits better
Carrotfits better
Potatofits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, celery, cheddar cheese, evaporated milk. 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.