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 ↓
Baked Macaroni
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the sauce
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cook the macaroni according to package instructions until al dente, then drain.
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, then stir in the flour to make a roux.
Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens.
Assemble and bake
Add the cooked macaroni, cheese, salt, and pepper to the sauce, mixing well.
Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and top with crushed rolled crackers.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden 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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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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Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter 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
- Forms the bulk of the dish and holds the sauce in its ridges and tubes.
- Butter
- Fat that combines with flour to form the roux, giving the sauce richness and smoothness.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a stable sauce by forming a roux with the butter.
- Milk
- Liquid base that gelatinizes with the roux to form a creamy, thickened sauce.
- Grated cheese
- Adds savoury flavour and, as it melts, makes the sauce richer and creamier.
- Rolled crackers
- Crushed topping that becomes crisp and golden as it bakes.
The step that matters
Stirring the milk into the roux. Adding milk gradually while stirring constantly keeps the flour dispersed, so the sauce thickens smoothly instead of forming lumps.
“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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