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Mould of Meat and Macaroni

A casserole of macaroni and layered meat, finished by steaming.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,015 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Mould of Meat and Macaroni

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the mould

  1. Boil the macaroni until soft but firm enough to handle.

  2. Grease a pudding basin or tin mould.

  3. Coat the inside with the macaroni, winding it from the center to the top edge.

Fill and steam

  1. Add a half-inch thick layer of forcemeat or sausage meat on the bottom and sides.

  2. Fill with a thick mince mixture.

  3. Add one beaten egg for each half pint.

  4. Top with more sausage meat.

  5. Cover the mould.

  6. Steam for one hour.

Serve

  1. Serve with a little sauce or gravy poured around it.

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.

  1. Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together24,744 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Meat + nutmegtop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,656 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Meat + peppertop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,777 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Meat + saucetop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,167 recipes

Egg and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Macaroni
Forms the firm outer shell that holds the casserole's shape when turned out.
Forcemeat or sausage meat
Lines the mould and tops the filling, adding richness and savoury flavour.
Mince
Makes up the bulk of the filling, giving body and meaty flavour.
Eggs
Bind the filling so it sets firmly when steamed and can be sliced.

The step that matters

Steaming the filled mould. Steam gently and keep the lid sealed so the egg-bound filling sets evenly without drying out. Too much heat can make the egg curdle and turn the texture rubbery.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, egg, pepper, sauce):

  1. Parsleyfits about as well
  2. Capersfits about as well
  3. Tarragonfits about as well
  4. Nutmegthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against meat, egg, pepper, sauce. 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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