Why it works: Butter and parmesan cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,163 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Macaroni.
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the macaroni
Combine macaroni, water, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan.
Boil until the water is absorbed.
Add grated cheese and 2 tablespoons butter to the macaroni.
Heat until the cheese melts.
Assemble the pie
Grease another saucepan with butter.
Line the sides and bottom with a thin layer of pastry.
Add the macaroni mixture to the lined saucepan.
Cover with more pastry.
Cook and serve
Cook gently over low heat for at least 30 minutes, with heat underneath and on the lid.
Once the pastry is cooked, turn the macaroni onto a dish and serve.
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.
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Butter + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,163 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Pepper + parmesan cheesetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,322 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Pepper + buttertop 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 pie and gives it a firm, sliceable body when set.
- Cheese
- Melts into the macaroni, adding richness, savoury flavour and a binding, creamy texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and flavour and helps keep the pasta from sticking.
- Pastry
- Encloses the filling, holding its shape while the pie cooks and browning on the outside.
The step that matters
Gentle cooking over low heat. Cooking gently over low heat with heat on the lid lets the filling heat through and the cheese set without scorching the pastry base before the middle is hot.
“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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