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Macaroni and Cheese

A baked macaroni and cheese dish with eggs, white pepper, milk, and grated cheese.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Macaroni and Cheese

Why it works: Milk and cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,426 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

  1. Simmer the macaroni in water for 10 minutes, then drain it.

Assemble

  1. Place half of the macaroni in the bottom of a pie dish.

  2. Pour one beaten egg over the macaroni, add white pepper, and sprinkle with grated cheese.

  3. Layer the remaining macaroni on top, add another beaten egg, white pepper, and milk.

  4. Grate cheese thickly over the top.

Bake

  1. Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven or place before the fire until browned.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,426 recipes

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

  2. Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  3. Egg + white peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,312 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).

  4. Egg + cheesetop 28% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,253 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. White pepper + cheesetop 29% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together233 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

What each ingredient does

Macaroni
Forms the bulk and structure of the dish, holding the layers together.
Eggs
Bind the mixture and help it set into a firm, sliceable custard.
Milk
Adds moisture and makes the egg mixture creamy rather than dry.
Grated cheese
Adds rich flavor and, as it melts and browns, a golden crust on top.

The step that matters

Pour the egg and milk evenly over the layers. Eggs set when heated, so the liquid must reach all the pasta before baking. Uneven pouring leaves dry pockets or a loose, runny section once the custard sets.

Swap the white pepper

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

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Cinnamonfits better
  3. Dillfits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, milk, cheese. 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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