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Macaroni Pudding

A baked macaroni dish with milk, cheese, and breadcrumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Cheese and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,130 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Macaroni Pudding

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

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.

Prepare the macaroni

  1. Simmer the macaroni in water until tender.

  2. Strain off the water.

Assemble and bake

  1. Add milk or cream, grated cheese, and salt; mix well.

  2. Strew grated cheese and bread crumbs on top.

  3. Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 30 minutes 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.

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. Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,130 recipes

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

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

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

  3. Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

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 body of the pudding, giving it a substantial, starchy structure.
Milk or cream
Provides moisture and richness, softening the macaroni and creating a creamy custard-like texture.
Grated cheese
Adds savoury flavour and fat, and browns on the surface during baking.
Bread crumbs
Forms a crisp, golden topping that adds texture contrast to the soft interior.

The step that matters

Bake until browned. Baking at 400°F for 30 minutes sets the milk and egg-free custard-like mixture and browns the cheese and crumbs on top. Removing it too early leaves the surface pale and the centre loose.

“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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