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 Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a sharp oven”. The 400°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Cook the macaroni
Break the macaroni into pieces about four inches long and place it in a saucepan.
Fill the pan halfway with cold water and add one-third of the milk.
Bring to a boil and cook until tender.
Make the cheese sauce
In a small saucepan, heat the remaining milk until boiling.
Mix flour with water to make a smooth thickening.
Stir the thickening into the boiling milk until it forms a very thick sauce.
Add 1 oz. of butter and most of the grated cheese to the sauce.
Season the sauce with pepper, salt, and cayenne.
Assemble and bake
Strain the cooked macaroni and place it on a well-buttered flat dish.
Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni.
Sprinkle the macaroni with breadcrumbs, remaining cheese, pepper, and salt.
Dot small pieces of butter on top.
Bake in a hot oven (400°F/200°C) for about twenty minutes until very 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.
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,130 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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
- Macaroni
- Forms the bulk of the dish and gives the baked dish its body once cooked tender.
- Milk
- Cooked with flour into a thick sauce that coats the macaroni and keeps it moist.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk so the sauce clings to the pasta instead of running off.
- Grated cheese
- Melts into the sauce to add rich flavor and a creamy, stretchy texture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat to the sauce and helps the top brown in the oven.
- Browned bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, golden topping through browning in the oven.
The step that matters
Stir the thickening into the boiling milk. Flour must be fully dispersed in hot liquid, with the milk kept boiling, or lumps form and the sauce will not thicken smoothly. Mixing it into a smooth slurry first helps prevent clumps.
“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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