Name: Macaroni with Cheese
Ingredients: 1 pint white sauce (or roux); 1 cup milk (or water); 1 cup grated cheese; Butter (for greasing); 1 cup macaroni; Sifted bread or cracker crumbs; Bits of butter (for topping)

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

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

Boil the macaroni as directed until al dente.
Prepare a pint of white sauce using milk or water.
Butter a pudding dish.

Assemble and bake

Layer macaroni, white sauce, and grated cheese in the dish, ending with cheese on top.
Dust the top with sifted bread or cracker crumbs and dot with bits of butter.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 15 minutes.

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.

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.

Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Cheese + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,130 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,962 recipes

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

Macaroni: Forms the bulk and body of the dish, giving it a substantial, starchy base.
White sauce: Provides creamy moisture that coats the pasta and keeps the dish from drying out.
Grated cheese: Adds rich flavor and, as it melts, binds the layers together with a stretchy texture.
Bread or cracker crumbs: Forms a crisp topping that browns in the oven, contrasting with the soft layers below.
Butter: Adds richness and helps the topping brown evenly as it melts in the oven.

“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.