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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the macaroni
Cook the macaroni in boiling water for about 8-10 minutes, then drain.
Make the sauce
In a saucepan, melt the butter, stir in the flour, and gradually add the hot milk, stirring until thickened.
Assemble and bake
In a baking dish, layer grated cheese, macaroni, and sauce. Repeat layers, finishing with sauce.
Top with bread crumbs, dot with butter, and sprinkle with grated cheese.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) until the top is 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 body of the dish, holding the sauce between its pieces.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter and milk into a smooth sauce that coats the pasta.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce, which sets into a creamy coating as it thickens.
- Grated cheese
- Melts into the sauce, adding richness, flavour and a stretchy, savoury texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the sauce and helps the top brown in the oven.
- Bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, golden topping through browning in the oven.
The step that matters
Thicken the sauce fully before layering. Flour must be cooked with the butter and stirred until the milk thickens; if the sauce stays thin, it will not coat the macaroni and the dish can turn watery in the oven.
“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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