Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Macaroni and Poached Eggs
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 the macaroni
Break the macaroni into short lengths and rinse in water.
Place macaroni in a fireproof dish or sauté pan with butter and enough milk to cover.
Stir occasionally as the macaroni swells while cooking.
When nearly done, season with salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese.
Assemble and bake
Dress the cooked macaroni on a dish.
Sauce with rich brown sauce.
Bake for 10 minutes at 350°F (175°C).
Poach, top and serve
Poach the eggs and trim them.
Lay the trimmed eggs carefully on top of the macaroni.
Garnish with parsley and serve.
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.
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.
-
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,163 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Pepper + parmesan cheesetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,322 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
-
Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 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
- Naples macaroni
- Forms the starchy base that swells and softens as it cooks in milk and butter.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, helping the macaroni taste rounded and feel smooth.
- Milk
- Cooks into the macaroni, giving it a creamy texture as the pasta absorbs it.
- Parmesan cheese
- Adds salty, savoury flavour and helps the macaroni taste fuller.
- Eggs
- Provide a soft, runny yolk that enriches the dish when cut into the sauce.
The step that matters
Poach the eggs. Eggs must be poached gently in barely simmering water so the whites set around the yolk while the yolk stays runny. Boiling water makes the whites ragged and can break the yolks.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, milk, pepper, parmesan cheese, sauce, egg):
- Parsleythe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Capersfits about as well
- Tarragonfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, milk, pepper, parmesan cheese, sauce, egg. 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.
You might also like
Macaroni and Cheese102 recipes
Cheese Making50 recipes
Cheese Fritters34 recipes
Cheese Omelette31 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.