Name: Macaroni Au Gratin
Ingredients: 1 pound macaroni; 4 cups milk; 1 tablespoon flour; 1 tablespoon butter; 4 teaspoons salt; dash of pepper; 1 cup grated cheese; 1 cup bread crumbs; 2 tablespoons melted butter

Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Macaroni Au Gratin

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the sauce

Boil the macaroni until tender, then drain.
In a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil.
Rub together the flour and butter, then add to the boiling milk.
Stir until the mixture thickens.
Add salt, pepper, and grated cheese to the sauce.

Bake and serve

Place the drained macaroni in a baking dish and pour the cheese sauce over it.
Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and drizzle with melted butter.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 15 minutes, or until the crumbs are brown.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,130 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,962 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,426 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

Macaroni: Forms the bulk of the dish, giving it body and a tender bite that holds the sauce.
Milk: Forms the liquid base of the cheese sauce, which thickens as it heats.
Flour: Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce when cooked with the butter.
Cheese: Adds rich flavor and creamy texture as it melts into the sauce.
Bread crumbs: Form a crisp, browned topping over the baked dish.

The step that matters

Stir the flour-butter mixture into the boiling milk until it thickens. Adding the roux-style mixture to hot liquid and stirring keeps it smooth; if stirring stops, lumps form and the sauce thickens unevenly.

“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.

Brown Bread461 recipes

Macaroni and Cheese102 recipes

White Bread80 recipes

Bread Omelette60 recipes

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Macaroni Au Gratin