Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Macaroni Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the macaroni
Combine macaroni, butter, salt, and pepper with boiling water in a pot. Boil for 30 minutes.
Drain the macaroni and cut it into half-inch lengths.
In a separate pot, boil the macaroni in chicken broth for 10 minutes.
Finish the soup
Let the macaroni cool slightly, then stir in cream, beaten egg yolks, and Parmesan cheese.
Heat gently for 3 minutes, stirring continuously, then serve.
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.
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,163 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Pepper + parmesan cheesetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,322 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Chicken + parmesan cheesetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,846 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Butter + chickentop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,902 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Macaroni
- Provides the bulk and chewy body of the soup.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth, rounded flavour.
- Chicken broth
- Supplies the main liquid and savoury flavour base.
- Cream
- Adds fat that makes the soup silky and mellow.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the soup as they gently set and add richness.
- Parmesan cheese
- Contributes savoury, salty flavour and a little body.
The step that matters
Stirring in the egg yolks. Egg yolks thicken when gently heated but curdle or scramble if the soup is too hot. Letting the macaroni cool slightly before adding them and stirring constantly during gentle heating keeps the soup smooth.
“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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