Name: Royal Macaroni
Ingredients: ½ pound macaroni; Herkimer cheese, grated; seeded tomatoes, sliced; French mushrooms, sliced; tomato sauce or cream sauce

Why it works: Tomato and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,719 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓

Royal Macaroni

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

Break the macaroni into three-inch lengths and cook according to package instructions.
Oil a deep baking dish.

Layer and bake

Layer macaroni.
Sprinkle with Herkimer cheese.
Add a layer of seeded tomatoes.
Add another layer of macaroni.
Add a layer of French mushrooms.
Top with another layer of macaroni.
Sprinkle a generous layer of cheese.
Spread tomato sauce or cream sauce over the top.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for at least 30 minutes.

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.

Tomato + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,719 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Cheese + mushroomtop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,015 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Cheese + tomatotop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,896 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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 casserole, holding the layers together.
Herkimer cheese: Melts into the layers, adding richness and binding the casserole together.
Seeded tomatoes: Release moisture as they bake, adding juiciness and a bright acidity.
French mushrooms: Add earthy flavour and moisture to the layers as they cook.
Tomato sauce or cream sauce: Adds moisture over the top so the casserole stays tender while baking.

“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.