/ck/ - Food & Cooking

File: 104 KB, 1024x680, macaroni-and-cheese-done-1024x680.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]

Anonymous Sat Jun 20 02:39:35 2015 No.6609480 [Reply] [Original]

My Mac & Cheese is somewhat lacking. I have a very bare-bones recipe: Pasta, milk, butter, and a bag of shredded cheddar cheese which I mix together in a pot until satisfactory. It looks great, but when I actually eat it, it doesn't have a ton of flavor - It just sort of tastes like pasta with light cheddar accents.

What more do I need for better mac & cheese?

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 02:41:24 2015 No.6609483 You need quality aged cheddar, and lots of it. Accept no substitutions.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 02:43:04 2015 No.6609488 Throw some bread crumbs in there. Let them get crispy.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 02:44:58 2015 No.6609492 >>6609483 This, and add a pinch of hot smoked Paprika.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 02:45:02 2015 No.6609493 >>6609483 As in a block? I hadn't thought of that. I've just been pouring a bag of Sargento in there.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 02:46:28 2015 No.6609496 >>6609493 Even a brand like Baldersons will work. Shread your own and ditch the pre-shredded stuff. Also, add a bit of black pepper.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 02:47:08 2015 No.6609498 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgYAyLMWMK8

Anonymous Sat Jun 20 02:48:00 2015 No.6609499

Sargento is for faggots

I made some mac n cheese tonight

use 1/4c. heavy cream or milk,
4 tbsp butter,
and 6 oz cracker barrel extra sharp cheddar (white)

cut the cheese into little bits and melt in after milk and butter

too thick? add pinch of flour to thicken

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 02:55:35 2015 No.6609512 We had a really good mac&cheese thread recently that has lots of great advice. >>/ck/thread/S6575101 It's a bit of tldr but if you have the time then I recommend it.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 04:45:22 2015 No.6609614 nutmeg mustard powder onion powder and here's where i'm unique: a tablespoon of ketchup. it provides just a subtle tinge of sweetness.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 06:07:29 2015 No.6609740 What you're missing is ketchup. Seriously, mix in ketchup, it's one of the only good uses for the stuff.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 06:10:37 2015 No.6609743 >>6609480 Make bechamel, then add cheese. Pour over macaroni. Add bread crumbs if you're feeling fancy. Why hasn't anyone mentioned roux?

Anonymous Sat Jun 20 07:24:24 2015 No.6609824

Use a sharp or extra-sharp cheddar. If that doesn't fix the issue, use more of it.

And never buy pre-shredded cheese, especially for mac and cheese. the food-grade sawdust they add to prevent caking can make for a "gritty" sauce.

Pepper, dry mustard, and/or hot sauce are worthy additions also.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 07:32:04 2015 No.6609837 >>6609743 Just what I was thinking. Who the fuck makes mac and cheese without starting with a roux to season? And fucking nutmeg man step up your game.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 07:35:33 2015 No.6609840 >>6609837 not fancy enuff for ya?

Anonymous Sat Jun 20 18:38:08 2015 No.6611073
File: 24 KB, 368x276, bakethatshit.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]

>>6609480
I suggest you skip the butter. Its a member of every macaroni & cheese recipe yet it works against the flavor.

Example... sample some cheddar. Then sample some cheddar with butter on it. The buttered one has no flavor. The taste buds are lubed-over with butter and the subtle cheese flavor doesn't stand a chance. I think of it as like the "put salt in your pasta water" myth. "Gotta get some flavor in that pasta while you can.. hurr". I call bullshit. I've loaded up pasta water with so much salt you couldn't see the bottom of the pot and the pasta still comes out tasting exactly like plain pasta. Just add salt to the dish if its not salty enough. Same goes with the butter, but you probably won't need it since the cheese will bring some oil.

I like simple dishes like this though. I just try not to let their deceptive simplicity fool me into going auto-pilot rather than scrutinizing the outcome as I would a more complicated recipe.

p.s. the "browned cheese" you get from broiling is another deception. One serving of fried cheese and then left with 12 servings of tasteless goop. Instead, go the tradition onion-soup route and make individual servings, each one having a fried top.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 18:57:06 2015 No.6611129 File: 58 KB, 300x400, mac & cheese stewed tomatoes.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>6609740 Fuck all that, stewed tomatoes are the tits over mac & cheese.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 19:00:13 2015 No.6611137 I like to keep it simple with a little black pepper and some mustard.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 19:03:56 2015 No.6611149 File: 50 KB, 770x433, 0004645213.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>6609483 >cheddar why do americans love this meme cheese? why can't americans into real cheese ?

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 19:04:10 2015 No.6611150 >>6609480 Pre-shredded cheese uses sawdust to keep the cheese shreds apart in storage and transit. Shred your own cheese if you can.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 19:05:18 2015 No.6611153 >>6611150 >sawdust in cheese what

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 19:07:35 2015 No.6611160 >>6611149 Cheddar is great because you can use massive amounts of it and it isn't overpowering. It's the real american cheese.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 19:17:58 2015 No.6611188 >>6609480 You might have missed some of the water that the pasta was cooked in. The cheese will soak that up and make a nice sauce. See, don't drain off all the pasta water, reserve some, it's very useful and flavorful later in the process.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 19:19:38 2015 No.6611197 >>6611153 I think what anon meant is cellulose, which comes from plant pulp matter.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 19:20:04 2015 No.6611202 >>6611153 It's cellulose so it's not quite sawdust, but it's pretty close. It keeps the cheese from melting properly.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 19:24:30 2015 No.6611222 >>6611197 >>6611202 We're not talking Russian or NK gulag food here.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 19:25:28 2015 No.6611225 >>6611150 It's normally potato starch

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 20:04:00 2015 No.6611311 >>6611129 >stewed tomatoes >not roasted red peppers

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 20:06:26 2015 No.6611319 >>6611311 My blackest of niggas. I though I was the only one who liked roasted red peppers on mac and cheese.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 20:07:13 2015 No.6611322 >>6611319 honestly, I'd eat roasted red peppers off of a homeless junkie's dick.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 20:08:26 2015 No.6611325 >>6611322 Well, I might not go that far, but I love roasted red peppers.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 20:11:39 2015 No.6611331 >>6611222 Read the ingredient list on any pre-shredded cheese. It all has cellulose to prevent it sticking together, which also makes it melt like shit and taste powdery.

Anonymous Sat Jun 20 20:16:55 2015 No.6611338

>>6611073
Not salting the water is just wrong. It's a fact that salting the water allows the pasta to absorb the salt along with the water as it cooks. Your entire piece of pasta is salted as opposed to just having salt on the outside if you add it later.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 20:24:09 2015 No.6611353 >>6609499 Too thick? Make it thicker.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 20:38:57 2015 No.6611384 >>6609480 throw in a slice of velveeta too for muh emulsifiers.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 20:41:46 2015 No.6611388 >>6609614 The objective right answer

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 20:46:49 2015 No.6611398 >>6611073 >I think of it as like the "put salt in your pasta water" myth This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 20:51:12 2015 No.6611410 >>6611149 I'm Canadian, you ponce.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 21:02:04 2015 No.6611435 >>6611410 I said americans, not people from the United states of america, just the continent of america

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 21:06:30 2015 No.6611445 >>6609480 Consider making a roux Cook 1:1 flour and butter in a pot until it loses that "flour" smell add the milk and cook until it thickens add the cheese and stir until its all melted pour over your noodles

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 21:07:02 2015 No.6611447 File: 12 KB, 300x200, Gjetost_01.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>6611149 ????

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 21:08:29 2015 No.6611452 The trick is not making a cheese sauce, rather you apply the cheese on the hot pasta and mix it so you get the full cheese flavour and non of that other shit. Just cheese and pasta that's it.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 21:16:53 2015 No.6611467 >>6611445 In the words of Chef John: "Cold milk, hot roux, no lumps!"

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 21:26:51 2015 No.6611481 >>6609480 Better cheese in larger quantities like the others said, also a bit of mustard powder.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 21:28:48 2015 No.6611483 >>6611435 >continent of america

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 21:35:50 2015 No.6611491 File: 152 KB, 500x316, file.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>6611483

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 21:39:36 2015 No.6611498 >>6611491 Amerca is not a continent. There is North America and South America. America is the common name for the US. Cry harder, you butthurt faggot.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 21:42:56 2015 No.6611508 File: 1.49 MB, 300x300, 1433870707929.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>6611498 >Cry

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 22:00:54 2015 No.6611543 File: 893 KB, 1257x699, Screen Shot 2015-06-11 at 6.08.04 PM.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>6611491 shut up morrissey

Anonymous Sat Jun 20 22:21:28 2015 No.6611590

>>6609480
>Pasta, milk, butter and cheese which I mix together

You're doing it wrong OP

>In a saucepan, melt a knob of butter and make a roux by adding flour and stirring it in making sure not to burn it
>Mix till it becomes thick, brown and pasty
>SLOWLY add milk to the roux, stirring it in until you have a uniform consistency before adding more - you don't want lumps of flour in there!
>Add your grated cheese. Just tip it all in and continue to stir as it melts and thickens the sauce. If it becomes too thick, add milk and gently reduce

>Meanwhile, boil a pot of water and add your pasta of choice
>Cook as desired, though I recommend no more than 3-5 minutes for al-dente
>Drain in a colander or sieve
>Add pasta to sauce and mix well
>Serve immediately

Optional:
>Transfer sauce and pasta to a baking dish and sprinkle the top with grated cheese &/or breadcrumbs
>Put in a preheated oven (~180*C) until the top is melted and golden brown
>Serve immediately

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 22:26:20 2015 No.6611598 >>6611160 >Cheddar >It's the real american cheese You do realise it's named after a town in Somerset, England; don't you?

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 22:29:47 2015 No.6611606 File: 1.16 MB, 294x250, wtf.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>6611590 >3-5 minutes for al dente

>>	Anonymous Sat Jun 20 22:34:56 2015 No.6611612 >>6611606 Ok, I fucked that up because I've been trying to get the perfect boiled egg and must have gotten them mixed up. 7.5 minutes on al-dente, 4:20 ish on a perfect gooey egg

Anonymous Sun Jun 21 00:12:00 2015 No.6611817

>>6609480

You need to put in cream cheese and parmesan at least.

That pic looks like velveeta shit. (Actually I love velveeta mac and cheese...)

Here's how I do it:
Get a jar of nice expensive alfredo sauce from the supermarket. Melt cheddar and cream cheese into it until it's gooey. Sometimes I might try something to give it a little kick like sriracha, bacon bits, mustard, pepper, wasabi/horseradish.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jun 21 00:28:04 2015 No.6611850 >>6611398 “Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.” Ben Franklin

Anonymous Sun Jun 21 00:28:38 2015 No.6611854

>>6609837
I'm convinced that I would get better results if I made a roux in a pan but if I wanted to use several different pans and pots to make a meal then I'd make something more nutritious like meat and three vegetables.

But this is mac and cheese. It's the simple one-pot meal between meals that needn't take more than a few minutes to cook and shouldn't leave me with a sink full of dirty dishes.

Therefore, screw the roux.
I'm stick to the basics for this basic meal.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jun 21 00:48:38 2015 No.6611907 >>6611817 what a chode

>>	Anonymous Sun Jun 21 01:04:09 2015 No.6611931 1. bechamel 2. gruyere 3. sharp white cheddar 4. parmesan 5. ??????? 6. profit

>>	Anonymous Sun Jun 21 03:06:08 2015 No.6612178 I had a black nanny that would add 2 eggs to her baked mac and cheese. It was delicious.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jun 21 05:30:00 2015 No.6612345 >>6611590 >>Mix till it becomes thick, brown and pasty Nigga, you tryna make a mornay the furthest you go is a blonde roux

>>	Anonymous Sun Jun 21 06:22:16 2015 No.6612402 >>6611491 Woah how did the US get way over there, and what happened to the rest of the world? Holy shit all the fat americans ate them!

Anonymous Sun Jun 21 06:22:20 2015 No.6612403

Everyone's already told you to use better cheese. So dear god do that.

But also, Heston cheese sauce. It's amazing, keeps a bunch, and can make even shorty cheeses taste great through the use of stock and reduced wine. And it takes like, two minutes max more than regular white sauce and cheese.

That, or use mustard and a tiny bit of chicken stock, and maybe a tiny dash of nutmeg.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jun 21 06:26:08 2015 No.6612408 >>6611590 >>6612345 Ya every time I've made a roux I've only had it blonde colored. Never had it go brown.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jun 21 06:27:54 2015 No.6612411 >>6611331 No shit. What's your point?

>>	Anonymous Sun Jun 21 06:34:54 2015 No.6612421 >>6611384 sodium citrate is better

>>	Anonymous Sun Jun 21 06:35:54 2015 No.6612424 >>6611483 Which one? There are two ya know.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jun 21 07:56:47 2015 No.6612520 Mature cheddar mixed in, preferably some gruyere too Mix in a bit of wholegrain mustard Breadcrumb & parmesan on top and put in the oven until crispy

>>	MaCallan Bro Sun Jun 21 12:38:46 2015 No.6612811 >>6612408 Thats because hes autistic.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jun 21 16:59:56 2015 No.6613325 >>6609480 Shred your own cheese. Salt, pepper, mustard powder, pinch of hot sauce. Cook the pasta in milk.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jun 22 00:57:39 2015 No.6614586 >>6609480 >What more do I need for better mac & cheese? real cheese Avoid that lousy orange cancer causing government cheese

>>	Anonymous Mon Jun 22 01:14:36 2015 No.6614613 >>6609483 this, plus I make a proper bechamel (simmer the milk with onion, bay leaf and cloves before adding to the flour), and I add a pinch of mustard powder and plenty of salt. Comes out bretty good, albeit SUPER rich.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jun 22 01:27:11 2015 No.6614630 you're all literally fucking stupid, because what he's looking for is the taste of velveeta.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jun 22 01:29:17 2015 No.6614632 >>6614630 >velveeta added to word filter. bye.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jun 22 01:54:30 2015 No.6614685 File: 49 KB, 608x383, porkchops.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>6611338 >>6611073 no you guys are dumb its because salt lowers boiling point so you can get some salty pussy more quicker after you finish cooking risotto for your bassy wife

Advanced search
Text to find
Subject [?]Search by post subject. Leave empty for any.
Username [?]Search for user name. Leave empty for any user name.
Tripcode [?]Search for tripcode. Leave empty for any.
Email [?]Search by email. Leave empty for any.
Filename [?]Search by image filename. Leave empty for any.
From Date [?]Enter what date to start searching from. Format is YYYY-MM-DD
To Date [?]Enter what date to start searching until. Format is YYYY-MM-DD
Image hash
Search in	All Posts OPs Only
Deleted posts	Show all posts Show only deleted posts Only show non-deleted posts
Internal posts	Show all posts Show only internal posts Show only archived posts
Order	New posts first Old posts first
Capcode	All Posts Only by Users Only by Mods Only by Admins Only by Developers
Results	Posts Threads
Action	[ Simple ]