Why it works: Butter and milk 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 ↓
Macaroni 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 the macaroni into small pieces and boil in slightly salted rapidly boiling water until tender.
Drain the macaroni well.
Make the sauce
Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, then add the milk and bring to a boil, stirring continuously.
Add the macaroni, cheese, mustard, and season with salt and pepper. Mix well.
Bake and serve
Transfer the mixture to a well-buttered baking dish, sprinkle with brown breadcrumbs and additional grated cheese, and dot with small pieces of butter.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until nicely browned.
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 + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cheese + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cheese + mustardtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,805 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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 gives it a tender, chewy bite.
- Cheese
- Melts into the sauce to add rich flavor and a creamy, stretchy texture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, helping the sauce feel smooth and the top brown.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a smooth white sauce that coats the macaroni.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce, giving it body and creaminess.
- Made mustard
- Adds a sharp, tangy note that balances the richness of the cheese.
The step that matters
Bring the white sauce to a boil while stirring continuously. Flour must be cooked in the hot butter and milk until the starch swells and thickens. Stirring prevents lumps and scorching on the base of the pan, giving a smooth sauce.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cheese, butter, flour, milk, pepper):
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cheese, butter, flour, milk, pepper. 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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