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Macaroni, Sweet

A baked macaroni dish with white sauce, cheese, cream, anchovy essence, and spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Sauce and anchovy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,057 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Macaroni, Sweet

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderately hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Break the macaroni into short pieces.

  2. Boil the macaroni in rapidly boiling salted water for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender, then drain well.

Assemble

  1. In a bowl, combine the white sauce, macaroni, cheese, cream, anchovy essence, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Mix well, then transfer to china coquilles or ramekin cases.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until the surface is well browned, about 30 to 40 minutes.

  2. Serve hot.

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. Sauce + anchovytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Sauce + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,787 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Cream + cheesetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,655 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Cream + anchovytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together798 recipes

    Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).

  5. Pepper + anchovytop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

What each ingredient does

Macaroni
Forms the bulk and body of the dish, giving it a substantial, chewy texture.
White sauce
Provides a creamy binding moisture that keeps the filling soft and cohesive.
Cheese
Adds savoury richness and, as it melts and browns, a golden crust.
Cream
Adds fat and moisture, making the filling smoother and richer.
Anchovy essence
Contributes a salty, savoury depth that boosts the flavour of the cheese.

The step that matters

Bake until the surface is well browned. The top needs enough dry heat to brown fully, which develops savoury flavour through browning reactions. Underbaking leaves the filling wet and pale, while overbaking can dry the sauce and toughen the cheese.

“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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