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 with Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Cook the macaroni
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the macaroni.
Cook for about 15 minutes until slightly undercooked, then drain.
In a saucepan, combine the macaroni with enough milk to cover and boil until fully cooked.
Assemble and bake
Butter a baking dish and sprinkle the bottom with grated cheese.
Add the macaroni, season with white pepper, and add plenty of butter.
Top with more grated cheese and cover with bread crumbs.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until browned and serve hot.
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.
-
Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,130 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
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
- Provides the starchy body that the sauce and cheese cling to.
- Milk
- Cooks the pasta further while adding moisture and creaminess to the dish.
- Grated cheese
- Melts into the pasta to add richness, savoury flavour and a creamy texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and mouthfeel, and helps the top brown.
- Bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned topping during baking.
The step that matters
Drain the macaroni while slightly undercooked, then finish it in milk. Pasta cooked fully before baking turns soft and mushy in the oven. Stopping early leaves it firm enough to hold its shape, and finishing it gently in milk lets it absorb liquid without breaking down.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, butter, cheese, bread):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Thymefits better
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, butter, cheese, bread. 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.
More macaroni and cheese recipes
You might also like
Brown Bread461 recipes
White Bread80 recipes
Bread Omelette60 recipes
Oatmeal Bread51 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.