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Stovetop Mac N' Cheese

A stovetop macaroni and cheese made with elbow macaroni, heavy cream, butter, flour, mixed cheeses, and egg yolks.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Cream and butter 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 ↓

Stovetop Mac N' Cheese

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the pasta

  1. Heat 1 gallon water to a rolling boil.

  2. Add salt and macaroni, and cook macaroni until al dente.

Make the cheese sauce

  1. While pasta boils, melt butter in a saucepan or a saucier over medium low heat.

  2. Cook until bubbling ceases.

  3. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking continuously, until blonde color is achieved.

  4. Temper in egg yolk.

  5. Add cheese and bring to just below a simmer.

  6. Cook, whisking continuously, until slightly thickened.

Combine and serve

  1. Fold in macaroni and serve warm.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1025Calories
41 gProtein
51 gFat
97 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
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Gruyere Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Macaroninot in our table0

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 Wikibooks Cookbook.

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.

  1. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

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

  2. Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

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

  3. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Cream + cheesetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,655 recipes

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

  5. Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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 of the dish and holds the sauce in its curves.
Flour
Thickens the butter into a roux that gives the sauce body.
Egg yolks
Add richness and help thicken the sauce when tempered and gently heated.
Heavy cream
Adds moisture and richness, giving the sauce a smooth, silky texture.
Shredded cheeses
Melt into the sauce to provide the main cheese flavor and creamy texture.

The step that matters

Temper in egg yolk. Adding hot liquid to raw egg yolks too quickly scrambles them. Stirring a little warm sauce into the yolks first gradually raises their temperature, so they blend smoothly and thicken the sauce without curdling.

“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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