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 and 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 into pieces about an inch long.
Boil the macaroni in a saucepan of salted water for 15 to 20 minutes until soft but not broken.
Drain the macaroni and layer it in a deep buttered dish.
Layer and bake
Add a layer of grated cheese, a few bits of butter, salt, and pepper.
Repeat layering with macaroni, cheese, and butter until all ingredients are used.
Pour in the cream or milk.
Cover and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.
Remove the cover and bake until golden 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 + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cheese + creamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,655 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cheese + peppertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,861 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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, once cooked until soft, gives the body that holds the sauce.
- Grated cheese
- Melts into the sauce, providing rich flavor and creamy texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and flavor and helps the top brown in the oven.
- Cream or milk
- Provides liquid that combines with the cheese and bakes into a creamy, moist sauce.
The step that matters
Boil the macaroni until soft but not broken. Pasta cooked too long turns mushy and loses its shape during baking, while undercooked pasta stays firm and does not soften in the dish. Stopping at tender but intact keeps the texture right.
“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 macaroni and cheese recipes
You might also like
Cheese Making50 recipes
Cheese Fritters34 recipes
Cheese Omelette31 recipes
Rice and Cheese Casserole23 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.