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Rice, Macaroni, Oatmeal

Macaroni cut into short pieces, mixed with a butter and milk sauce and Parmesan, then baked in scallop shells.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Payne, A. G. (Arthur Gay), 1840-1894 · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Rice, Macaroni, Oatmeal

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the macaroni

  1. Wash the macaroni and throw it into boiling water.

  2. Take the macaroni out, drain it, and throw it into cold water.

  3. Take it out and cut it into pieces not more than half an inch in length.

Make the sauce

  1. Take about a quarter of a pound of butter and melt it in a stew-pan.

  2. Add about a cupful of milk, or still better, cream.

  3. Stir it and dredge in enough flour to make it thick, or still better, thicken it with a little white roux.

  4. Add some pepper and salt, about a quarter of a grated nutmeg, and two or three spoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese.

  5. Add the cut-up macaroni and stir the whole well up over the fire together.

Assemble and bake

  1. Fill the scollop shells with the mixture, and throw some grated cheese over the top.

  2. Bake the scollops in the oven till the cheese begins to brown.

  3. Pour a little oiled butter over the top of the cheese.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

379Calories
18 gProtein
28 gFat
16 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
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.

By Payne, A. G. (Arthur Gay), 1840-1894. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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. See the original page.

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. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  2. Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Parmesan cheese + buttertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,163 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Parmesan cheese + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,322 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  5. Parmesan cheese + milktop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,608 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

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

What each ingredient does

Macaroni
Provides the bulk and chewy structure that holds the sauce in each portion.
Butter
Melted into the base to add richness and carry flavour, and to help the top brown.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the sauce, giving it a smooth, creamy body.
Flour (in the method)
Thickens the sauce as it heats, so it clings to the macaroni instead of running off.
Parmesan cheese
Adds savoury, salty flavour to the sauce and browns on the surface in the oven.

The step that matters

Thickening the sauce. Flour must be cooked into the melted butter and milk until the sauce is smooth and thick. Undercooked flour leaves a raw taste and lumps, and a thin sauce will not coat the macaroni or hold together after baking.

Swap the nutmeg

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

  1. Parsleyfits about as well
  2. Celeryfits about as well
  3. Basilfits about as well
  4. Nutmegthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against parmesan cheese, butter, milk, pepper. 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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