Why it works: Bread and ham are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,536 recipes. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓
Meat with Macaroni
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
Place the meat on a plate and sprinkle with pepper and chopped herbs.
Pour the stock over the meat and cover for a short time.
Grease a deep dish and coat the bottom and sides with bread crumbs.
Boil the macaroni until half cooked, about ½ pound.
Prepare a good supply of plain forcemeat and line the bottom and sides of the dish with it.
Assemble and bake
Add a layer of cooked ham or bacon slices, then place the piece of meat on top.
Add more slices of bacon over the meat, followed by another layer of forcemeat.
Cover the dish and place it in a tin of hot water in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 30 minutes.
Remove the tin and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
Finish and serve
Finish the macaroni in stock or sauce.
Turn the molded meat onto a hot dish and arrange the macaroni around it.
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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Bread + hamtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,536 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Mutton + breadtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,488 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Mutton + hamtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together430 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Bread + oniontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,676 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton or veal fillet
- Forms the main body of the dish, becoming tender and moist as it cooks gently in stock.
- Forcemeat
- Lines and covers the meat, holding the molded shape together as it sets.
- Macaroni
- Provides a starchy base that finishes in stock or sauce and is served around the meat.
- Ham or bacon
- Adds savory, salty flavor and fat that seasons the meat and forcemeat layers.
The step that matters
Covering and baking in a water bath. Baking the covered dish in a tin of hot water keeps the oven heat gentle, so the meat and forcemeat set without drying or toughening at the edges.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, pepper, bread, ham):
- Tomatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Carrotfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, pepper, bread, ham. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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