Why it works: Butter and milk 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 and Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the macaroni
Break macaroni into 1-inch pieces.
Cook in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, then drain and rinse with cold water.
Make the sauce
In a saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour to make a roux.
Gradually add milk, stirring until thickened.
Add cooked macaroni and cheese to the sauce, mixing well.
Bake and serve
Transfer to a buttered baking dish, cover with breadcrumbs, and bake at 400°F (200°C) until brown.
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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Butter + milktop 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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Cheese + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 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
What each ingredient does
- Macaroni
- Provides the starchy body that holds the sauce and gives the dish its structure.
- Butter
- Forms the fat base of the roux and adds richness to the sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce when cooked with butter as a roux.
- Cheese
- Melts into the sauce to add flavor, creaminess, and savory depth.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce, which thickens as it heats with the flour.
- Breadcrumbs
- Form a crisp, browned topping during baking, adding texture contrast.
The step that matters
Thickening the sauce. Flour must be cooked briefly in the melted butter and milk added gradually while stirring, or the sauce can turn lumpy instead of smooth and thick.
“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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