Name: Macaroni with Tohatoes
Ingredients: ¼ box macaroni; ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese; 1 cup stewed tomatoes; 1 tablespoon butter; salt to taste; pepper to taste

Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Macaroni with Tohatoes

Oven, in the book's wordsA slow oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

Break the macaroni into 2-inch lengths.
Boil in a saucepan of salted water for 25 minutes.
Drain the macaroni and place it in a baking dish.

Bake and serve

Mix in the Parmesan cheese, stewed tomatoes, butter, salt, and pepper.
Bake in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 30 minutes and serve.

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 + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Parmesan cheese + buttertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,163 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Parmesan cheese + tomatotop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,490 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Parmesan cheese + peppertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,322 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked 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 bulk of the dish and gives it a firm, chewy structure.
Parmesan cheese: Adds savory, salty flavor and melts to bind the dish together.
Stewed tomatoes: Provide moisture and acidity that flavor the pasta as it bakes.
Butter: Adds fat for richness and a smoother mouthfeel.