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Macaroni and Cheese

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

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Macaroni and Cheese

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 and Cheese

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.

Cook the macaroni

  1. Break macaroni into 1-inch pieces and boil rapidly for 20 minutes.

  2. Drain and rinse with cold water for a few minutes.

Make the cheese sauce

  1. In a saucepan, melt the butter, then add flour and milk, stirring until it boils.

  2. Remove from heat, add cheese, and stir until smooth.

  3. Add baking soda.

  4. Stir the macaroni into the cheese mixture.

Bake and serve

  1. Transfer to a baking dish, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle bread crumbs on top.

  2. Dot with small bits of butter and bake for a few minutes in a 400°F (200°C) oven.

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.

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.

  1. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

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

  2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

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

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

  4. Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

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

  5. Cheese + milktop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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
Provides the starch and bulk that make up the body of the dish.
Butter
Adds fat and richness to the sauce and the topping.
Cheese
Supplies the main flavor and melts into the sauce to make it creamy.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the sauce, adding moisture and softness.
Flour
Thickens the milk and butter into a smooth sauce that clings to the pasta.
Baking soda
Raises the pH of the cheese, which helps it melt smoothly and stay creamy.

The step that matters

Stirring the sauce until smooth after removing it from heat. Cheese added to a very hot sauce can turn grainy or oily as its proteins tighten and fat separates. Removing the pan from heat before adding cheese, then stirring gently, helps it melt into an even 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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