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 gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the sauce
In a saucepan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour until well blended.
Add the milk and stir until it comes to a boil.
Stir in the salt, cayenne pepper, and cheese until the cheese melts.
Bake and serve
Combine the boiled macaroni with the cheese sauce and stir well.
Transfer to a baking dish, sprinkle with fine bread crumbs, and brown in a 350°F (175°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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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 body of the dish, holding the sauce in its tubes and shape.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and forms the base for the roux.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce when cooked with the butter.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid of the sauce, giving it a creamy, smooth texture.
- Cheese
- Melts into the sauce, adding savory flavour and a rich, stretchy texture.
The step that matters
Bringing the milk to a boil while whisking. Flour thickens milk only when the starch heats enough to swell. Stirring constantly prevents lumps and scorching on the pan base, so the sauce turns smooth and cohesive before the cheese is added.
“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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