Why it works: Milk and butter 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 quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the macaroni
Break the macaroni into small pieces and boil in salted water until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Drain the macaroni.
Make the sauce
Melt ½ ounce of butter in a pan and stir in flour.
Add milk and boil while stirring continuously.
Add cayenne, salt, mustard, and half of the cheese to the mixture.
Stir in the macaroni.
Bake and serve
Butter a pie dish or French baking dish.
Add the macaroni mixture.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
Dot with the remaining ½ ounce of butter.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven or place before a good fire until golden.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Mustard + cheesetop 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 (in the method)
- Provides the bulk and chewy, starchy body of the dish.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce, adding moisture and creaminess.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce when cooked with butter.
- Cheese
- Melts into the sauce for rich flavour and stretch, and browns on top.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and helps the flour form a smooth roux.
The step that matters
Boil the milk while stirring continuously. Flour thickens milk only when it reaches a boil and is stirred constantly; otherwise lumps form and the sauce stays thin or grainy.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, milk, butter, flour, cheese):
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, milk, butter, flour, cheese. 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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