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Mac 'n' Cheese Pots

There's no better winter dish than Macaroni cheese, especially when it's in individual portions and you don't have to share it

By bbcgoodfood · From Open Recipes · 9 ingredients
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Mac 'n' Cheese Pots

Why it works: Garlic and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,053 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓

Mac 'n' Cheese Pots

Serves 4

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

943Calories
39 gProtein
38 gFat
111 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Macaroninot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By bbcgoodfood. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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. Garlic + mustardtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Clove + mustardtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,829 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  4. Garlic + clovetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,368 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, milk, clove, mustard):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Nutmegfits better
  3. Cardamomfits better
  4. Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, milk, clove, mustard. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.