Name: Macaroni or Spaghetti with Cheese
Ingredients: ¼ pound macaroni or spaghetti (about 12 sticks); 3 pints boiling salted water; 1 tablespoon flour; 1 tablespoon butter; 1½ cups hot milk; Salt to taste; Grated cheese; Fine bread crumbs; Butter for dotting

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 or Spaghetti with Cheese

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the macaroni

Break the macaroni or spaghetti into 1‑inch lengths.
Cook in boiling salted water for 20 minutes.
Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water.

Make the sauce

In a saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour.
Gradually add the hot milk, stirring until thickened; season with salt.

Bake and serve

In a baking dish, layer grated cheese, macaroni, and sauce.
Top with bread crumbs, dot with butter, and sprinkle with more cheese.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) until brown.

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.

Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,130 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,962 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked 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 or spaghetti: Forms the bulk of the dish, giving it a firm, chewy body under the sauce.
Flour: Thickens the butter and milk into a smooth sauce that coats the pasta.
Milk: Forms the liquid base of the sauce, adding creaminess and moisture.
Grated cheese: Melts into the sauce and browns on top, adding richness and flavor.
Butter: Adds fat and flavor to the sauce and helps the top brown in the oven.

The step that matters

Thickening the sauce. Add the hot milk gradually while stirring so the flour starches disperse evenly and the sauce thickens smoothly without lumps.

“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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Macaroni or Spaghetti with Cheese