Why it works: Tomato and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and 5,469 recipes mention both. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Maccaroni and Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and boil
Cut the macaroni into four‑inch pieces.
Boil the macaroni in salted water until covered for 15 to 20 minutes.
Drain and serve
Drain the macaroni and arrange it on a hot dish.
Pour tomato sauce over the macaroni and serve immediately.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Tomato + saucetop 15% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together5,469 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Macaroni
- Starch forms the bulk of the dish and gives it a firm, chewy bite when cooked.
- Tomato sauce
- Adds moisture, acidity and savoury flavour that coat the pasta.
The step that matters
Boiling the macaroni. Pasta keeps cooking from residual heat after draining, and extra minutes let its starch soften further. Checking it near the low end of the 15 to 20 minute range helps keep a firm, not mushy, texture.
“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 with tomato sauce recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Cream of Tomato Soup107 recipes
Tomato Bisque61 recipes
Cream Tomato Soup28 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.