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 ↓
Chicken and Macaroni Au Gratin
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
Arrange layers of macaroni, chicken, and parsley in a small baking dish.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and stir it into the bread crumbs; set aside.
Make the sauce
Mix the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter with the flour, add the chicken stock, and cook while stirring until boiling.
Remove from heat and add the onion juice.
Beat the egg, then pour the hot liquid over it while stirring briskly; season well.
Pour the mixture into the baking dish and cover with the bread crumbs.
Bake and serve
Bake on the top rack of a 400°F (200°C) oven for about 20 minutes, or until the crumbs are browned, and serve hot.
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.
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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Chicken + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,814 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
-
Parsley + oniontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + parsleytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
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 casserole and gives it a sturdy, filling body.
- Chicken
- Provides the main protein and savory flavor throughout the casserole.
- Butter
- Adds richness and helps the bread crumbs brown in the oven.
- Flour
- Thickens the stock into a smooth sauce that binds the dish together.
- Egg
- Enriches the sauce and helps it set as it bakes.
- Bread crumbs
- Forms a crisp, browned topping over the casserole.
The step that matters
Pour the hot liquid over the beaten egg while stirring briskly. Adding hot liquid to egg too quickly can scramble it. Stirring vigorously while pouring gradually tempers the egg so it blends smoothly into the sauce.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, butter, flour, egg, parsley, bread):
- Shallotfits better
- Leekfits better
- Chivefits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, butter, flour, egg, parsley, bread. 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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