Has anyone used this for Mac 'n Cheese?
I'm trying to perfect Mac 'n Cheese, without using Velveeta but by using real cheese. When I make a bechamel sauce the end product is still kind of "grainy", its not separating or greasy just a rough texture.
Serious Eats has a recipe using Sodium Citrate to create a silky smooth texture. I just bought some food grade from Amazon to give it a try.
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I've been tempted to try this Modernist Cuisine recipe for Silky Smooth Mac and Cheese . It also calls for sodium citrate.
I've made the mac and cheese recipe from Kenji's Food Lab book--where he uses a portion of American cheese (which has sodium phosphate in it) to keep the sauce smooth. It turned out OK for the meal, but the leftovers were not creamy the next day.
I googled the recipe I think you may be using from the Serious Eats website, Modern Baked Mac and Cheese. Is that the one? Looks good. I may try it too!
Thanks for the mac and cheese inspiration, CRO . It's always fun to try a new ingredient.
Yep, that's the one.
I made the classic recipe yesterday. My daughter said the flavor was good but she didn't like the texture. I used a mixture of chedder and gouda and didn't fold in the gruyere at the end.
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I haven't used it to make mac & cheese, but I have used it to make pepper jack melty cheese. Using real pepper jack and turning it into a cheese similar to velveeta/American cheese that melts wonderfully on a burger. I've used the recipes at Chefsteps. https://www.chefsteps.com/activities...-cheese-slices
I'm trying to nail down a mac and cheese recipe too. The recipe on this site by Clint Cantwell is good, but not quite what I'm looking for. I'm thinking of adding a bit of velveeta in addition to the cheeses in his recipe. Maybe some green chiles too! Spicy breakfast sausage? All things lurking in the back of my somewhat shallow head.
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My wife uses this to make various kinds of cheese sauce, works really well. Probably needs a better name, though. Sounds like something I'd use to clean the grill, if I was the sort of person to do that ...
I stole this recipe from somewhere or another. It turned out really good! I have found that when making the bechamel, the lower the heat the better it turns out. You need just enough to melt the cheese and that's it. If it needs more heat, it's easy to add but too much heat will give you that grainy texture we all would prefer not to have.
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Kingsford Competition Charcoal
Anova Sous Vide
-Do not use low fat milk, full fat minimum...i actually use heavy cream for mine
-once the roux is cooked and you add the cream and its thickened...take it off the heat and stir in the cheese. The more you heat it at this point the grainier it will become
I use 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons flour, 2 cups of heavy cream added one cup at a time until it comes back up to temp. then take it off the heat and add the cheese. This has always worked for me and produced a very smooth cheese sauce. Ive never tried sodium citrate. Also helps to use a good melting cheese as the main cheese like monteray jack or something.
I made a batch of Mac 'N Cheese for my daughter this afternoon with Sodium Citrate.
I dissolved 2 tsp of Sodium Citrate in 1 1/8 cup of cold milk. Heated up the milk to a slow simmer and slowly whisked in 3/4 pounds of cheese.( about an 1/8 cup at a time, letting each part incorporate before adding more) I tried using an immersion blender but it got very foamy, a whisk worked fine. Poured the sauce over 1/2 pound of pasta.
Verdict....my daughter said it was great. I sprinkled in some mustard powder, tabasco and garlic powder for flavor to the finished cheese sauce.
Well, my last batch was not a hit. My daughter said that it tasted good but left too much "stickyness" in her mouth. I made it with whole milk.
I made a batch tonight, much better flavor and mouth feel. I used this recipe, but cut it in half. My deviations were; no Guyere at the end, I used water instead of milk, I dissolved the Sodium Citrate in cold water completely then brought to a simmer, no garlic powder and a tablespoon of parmesan was added to the completed cheese sauce.
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