Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Maccaroni in a Mould of Pie Crust
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the crust
Prepare a pie crust in an oval shape with a sturdy bottom and no top.
Bake the crust until golden brown.
Make the filling
Boil the macaroni in salted water until tender, then drain.
In a separate pan, melt 1 ounce of butter, add the drained macaroni, grated cheese, and cream. Toss until the cheese is well mixed.
Assemble and serve
Pour the mixture into the baked pie crust, sprinkle with more cheese, and baste with remaining butter.
Serve hot without browning the cheese.
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 + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cheese + creamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,655 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Maccaroni
- Forms the bulk of the pie, giving it a firm, starchy body once cooked and drained.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, coating the macaroni and helping it stay tender.
- Grated cheese
- Melts into the macaroni, binding it together and adding savory flavor.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and smoothness, helping the cheese spread evenly through the macaroni.
The step that matters
Serve hot without browning the cheese. Cheese turns oily and bitter when overheated, so the top should be kept just melted rather than browned, and the pie served while warm.
“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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