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 gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Cook the macaroni
Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water for 20 minutes.
Drain the macaroni in a colander and rinse with cold water.
Make the sauce
In a saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour.
Gradually add the hot milk to make a sauce. Season with salt.
Assemble and bake
In a baking dish, layer grated cheese, macaroni, and sauce. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used.
Top with fine bread crumbs, bits of butter, and grated cheese. Bake at 400°F (200°C) until brown.
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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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,130 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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
- Forms the bulk and structure of the dish once baked.
- Butter
- Enriches the sauce with fat and adds flavour and richness.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter and milk into a smooth sauce.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce, giving it creaminess.
- Grated cheese
- Melts into the sauce and browns on top for flavour and texture.
The step that matters
Gradually add the hot milk to the butter and flour. Adding the liquid slowly while stirring lets the starch in the flour disperse evenly, which prevents lumps and gives a smooth, thick sauce.
“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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