Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, 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.
Cook the macaroni
Cook the macaroni in boiling water with salt for 5 minutes.
Transfer to a covered pot and let it sit for 2 hours.
Make the sauce
Thicken the milk with flour in a separate pot.
Season the thickened milk with butter, pepper, and paprika.
Combine the macaroni with the sauce.
Assemble and bake
Layer macaroni, white sauce, and grated cheese in a baking dish.
Top with bread crumbs and bits of butter.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.
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.
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,130 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Macaroni
- Forms the bulk of the dish and gives it a firm, chewy bite under the sauce.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce, which flour thickens into a smooth coating.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a white sauce that clings to the pasta.
- Grated cheese
- Melts into the sauce to add richness, flavor, and a stretchy texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the sauce and browns the crumb topping.
- Bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, golden topping as they bake.
The step that matters
Thicken the milk with flour. Flour must be cooked in the warm milk long enough to swell and thicken it smoothly. Adding flour to hot liquid without whisking can form lumps, and undercooked flour leaves a raw, pasty taste.
“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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