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 and Cheese
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
Break macaroni into 1-inch pieces.
Boil the macaroni rapidly for 20 minutes.
Drain the macaroni.
Rinse the macaroni with cold water for a few minutes.
Make the cheese sauce
Melt the butter in a saucepan.
Add the flour to the melted butter.
Add the milk to the mixture.
Stir until the mixture boils.
Remove the saucepan from heat.
Add the cheese to the mixture.
Stir until smooth. Add the baking soda.
Assemble and bake
Stir the cooked macaroni into the cheese mixture.
Transfer the mixture to a baking dish.
Season with pepper and salt.
Sprinkle bread crumbs on top.
Dot the top with small bits of butter.
Bake for a few minutes in a 400°F (200°C) oven.
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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Cheese + milktop 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, giving the sauce something to cling to.
- Butter
- Adds richness and carries flavour, and helps the flour cook into the sauce base.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter and milk into a smooth, stable sauce.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce, giving it a creamy texture.
- Cheese
- Provides the main flavour and, when melted gently, the sauce's smooth, stretchy richness.
- Baking soda
- Raises the sauce's pH, helping the cheese melt smoothly instead of turning grainy.
The step that matters
Add the cheese after removing the saucepan from heat. Cheese is proteins and fat that toughen and separate when overheated. Melting it off the heat, with the sauce already thickened, keeps the sauce smooth rather than grainy or oily.
“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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