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 with Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Cook the macaroni
Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water for 20 minutes.
Drain the macaroni in a colander and rinse with cold water.
Make the sauce
In a saucepan, melt the butter, then stir in the flour to make a roux.
Gradually add the hot milk, stirring until the sauce thickens.
Assemble and bake
In a baking dish, layer grated cheese, macaroni, and sauce. Repeat layers, finishing with sauce.
Top with bread crumbs, dot with butter, and sprinkle with grated cheese.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) until the top is 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 + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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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Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,130 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Macaroni
- Forms the bulk and body of the dish, holding the sauce between its pieces.
- Butter
- Enriches the roux and adds richness and flavour to the sauce and the top.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce when cooked with the butter as a roux.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce, which thickens as it heats.
- Grated cheese
- Adds savoury flavour and, when melted, a creamy, binding texture to the sauce.
- Bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned topping that contrasts with the soft layers below.
The step that matters
Thickening the sauce. Stir the flour into the melted butter and add the hot milk gradually, stirring constantly. Adding liquid too fast or unevenly causes lumps, because flour needs to be dispersed before it thickens.
“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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