Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Macaroni Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Break the macaroni into small pieces and boil until tender.
Make the sauce
Melt the butter in a saucepan, then stir in the flour.
Add the milk and boil for 3-4 minutes, stirring well.
Stir in the cooked macaroni and seasonings, then cool the mixture slightly.
Bake and serve
Pour into a buttered pie dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
Brown in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) or under a gas grill.
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 + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cheese + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + mustardtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,805 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Macaroni
- Forms the body of the dish, giving it substance and a tender bite.
- Cheese
- Adds rich flavour and melts into the sauce, with a browned top when grilled.
- Butter
- Provides fat and flavour, and forms the base of the roux with the flour.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce when cooked with the butter.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid of the sauce, which thickens as it boils and coats the pasta.
The step that matters
Add the milk and boil for 3-4 minutes, stirring well.. Flour must be cooked in the butter and milk until the starch swells and thickens. Stirring prevents lumps and scorching on the base of the pan, giving a smooth sauce.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cheese, butter, flour, milk, pepper):
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cheese, butter, flour, milk, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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