Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Baked Macaroni
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
Break the macaroni into small pieces and boil in a saucepan with plenty of water and 1 teaspoon of salt until tender, being careful not to let it stick.
Drain the macaroni and rinse briefly in cold water.
Butter a baking dish.
Assemble and bake
Layer macaroni, grated cheese, salt, and pepper, repeating the layers until all ingredients are used.
Dot the top with bits of butter.
Pour the cream over the top.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until golden.
Serve directly from the baking dish.
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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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + creamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,655 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + peppertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,861 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Macaroni
- Forms the starchy body of the dish, holding its layers together once baked.
- Grated cheese
- Melts into the layers and browns on top, adding richness and savoury flavour.
- Sweet cream
- Adds moisture and fat that soften the pasta and help the top turn golden.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and helps the top brown in the oven.
The step that matters
Being careful not to let the macaroni stick while boiling. Macaroni that sticks to the pot or clumps tends to cook unevenly and break apart, which makes the layers less even. Plenty of water and gentle stirring help keep the pieces separate while they soften.
“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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