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
Cook the macaroni
Combine milk, water, and salt in a pot and bring to a boil.
Add the macaroni, cook until tender, then drain.
Assemble and brown
Layer the macaroni in a deep dish with grated cheese and small pieces of butter.
Top with a final layer of cheese and cover with bread crumbs.
Pour the remaining butter over the crumbs.
Brown the top under a broiler or in front of a fire, turning 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 + 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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Cheese + buttertop 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
- Pipe macaroni
- Forms the bulk of the dish and holds the cheese and butter between its layers.
- Cheese
- Melts into the macaroni, adding creaminess, fat, and savory flavor.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, and helps the top brown and taste rich.
- Milk
- Cooked with the pasta, it adds dairy flavor and a softer, richer texture.
- Bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, golden topping that contrasts with the soft macaroni below.
The step that matters
Browning the top under the broiler. Cheese, butter, and milk solids brown quickly under intense direct heat, so the top can scorch before the dish is evenly golden. Turning and watching closely keeps it nicely browned rather than burnt.
“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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