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 ↓
Baked Macaroni
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.
Prepare
Boil the spaghetti in water for 20 minutes, then drain and place in cold water.
In a bowl, rub together the butter and flour.
Make the sauce
Add the sweet milk to the butter and flour mixture, cooking until thick.
Season the mixture with salt and pepper, then stir in the grated cheese.
Bake and serve
Place the drained spaghetti in a buttered dish and pour the cheese mixture over it.
Cover with bread crumbs and 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.
-
Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,130 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
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
- French spaghetti
- Forms the body of the dish, giving the baked layer its chewy, substantial texture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and flavor, and coats the flour so it blends smoothly into the milk.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce that holds the spaghetti together.
- Sweet milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce, adding moisture and creaminess.
- Grated cheese
- Melts into the sauce to add savory flavor and a rich, stretchy texture.
The step that matters
Cooking the milk into a thick sauce. Flour thickens only when heated in liquid, and its starch swells as it cooks. Stirring while the mixture heats keeps it smooth and prevents lumps, and the sauce must be thick enough to coat the spaghetti before 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.
More baked macaroni recipes
You might also like
Brown Bread461 recipes
Macaroni and Cheese102 recipes
White Bread80 recipes
Bread Omelette60 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.