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Macaroni Au Gra Tin

A baked macaroni dish with milk, butter, eggs, Gruyère, and Parmesan cheeses.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Cheese and parmesan cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,041 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Macaroni Au Gra Tin

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the macaroni

  1. Boil the macaroni until tender, then drain thoroughly and let cool.

Make the custard

  1. Bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan.

  2. Melt the butter in the boiling milk, then add pepper and salt.

  3. In a bowl, beat the eggs and mix in the Gruyère and Parmesan cheese.

  4. Gradually pour the boiling milk mixture into the egg and cheese, stirring rapidly.

Bake and serve

  1. Place the macaroni in a fire-proof bake-dish and pour the milk mixture over it, ensuring it is fully covered.

  2. Sprinkle additional grated cheese on top.

  3. Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 20 to 30 minutes until the top is a rich 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.

  1. Cheese + parmesan cheesetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,041 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Butter + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,163 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. 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

Eggs
Bind the custard and help it set into a creamy, sliceable texture when baked.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the custard, providing moisture and creaminess.
Gruyère cheese
Melts into the custard and adds rich, savory flavor and body.
Parmesan cheese
Adds sharp, savory flavor and helps the top brown during baking.
Macaroni
Provides the starchy structure that holds the custard in the dish.
Butter
Adds fat and richness to the milk mixture.

The step that matters

Gradually pour the boiling milk mixture into the egg and cheese, stirring rapidly.. Adding hot liquid slowly while stirring tempers the eggs, raising their temperature gently so they thicken smoothly instead of scrambling into 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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