Why American Cheese Makes the Best (and Easiest) Mac and Cheese | What's Eating Dan?
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- Опубликовано: 20 май 2024
- Want the creamiest mac and cheese? Buy American. Dan shows you an innovative recipe that is scientifically proven to achieve the smoothest sauce.
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My mac and cheese lovers! Thanks for watching. Let me know if you try one or both recipes.
Hey Dan - just wondering why you would use water and citrate for the cheese sauce and not cream? I would assume cream would be more flavourful and always seems to create a stable sauce for me no matter what cheese I use, but I only use a few varieties. Is the citrate bombproof in ways that other methods of making a cheese sauce (like using starchy water or a roux) aren’t?
Good call on your sweater, Dan. My favorite weird fact about sodium citrate is that it's used in phlebotomy and other medical contexts as a useful anticoagulant.
Any time I donate blood products I'm excited to get my nacho water.
Preach!
Can't try any of the recipes. They're behind a paywall.
@@fabe61 Yes, sodium citrate much more powerful. And that cheese sauce is super intense and cheesy and rich in a way that you won't be asking for cream. There is not starch, etc. to get in the way of the cheese flavor.
If you can't easily get sodium citrate, you can make it by dissolving baking soda (sodium bicarbonate/bi-carb soda; not baking powder) and citric acid (in my experience both are easier to find in shops, though this will depend on where you live) in the water (and waiting for the bubbling to finish; this is CO2 being released as a by-product of the reaction). The 12g sodium citrate in the recipe can be made by combining 11.72g bicarb soda, and 8.93g citric acid.
ur like a stoichiometric god thank you for this
@@jibreelfernandez9601 There’s a video on Gavin Webber’s RUclips channel showing exactly how to do this in case you want to see someone doing it. It takes a long time for the bubbling to stop. It think it took between one and two hours for me. The homemade stuff works just as well as the stuff you can get online.
Since Citric Acid can also be difficult to find you can also use lemon or lime juice. Based on the recipe from Adam Ragusea you'd want 200ml of juice for 12g baking soda.
@OneDollarWilliam thats... a lot. There's a ton of usecases where that much lemon flavour, sugar, and water is gonna be troublesome
@@tsawy6The other problem with using fresh citrus is that you no longer know exactly how much citric acid you're getting.
You COULD use bottled juice... but honestly citric acid is easy enough to order online.
Damn, I love Dan's kitchen takes. I make mac and cheese from scratch twice a year... I add crumbled bacon and top it with seasoned bread crumbs.
Um I don't usually buy apparel from videos I see, but that nacho sweatshirt is friggin awesome lol
How much do I love the modeling segment? So very much! Dan is my favorite on ATK!
Dan: Now, back to the nerdy stuff…
Me: Didn’t know we ever left!
lol
When I do mac and cheese, I use the Béchamel method: I sauté shallots, celery and garlic in butter, add milk, and I hand grate some cheese, the sharper the better, mixed with flour and mixe everything... when the sauce is done, I had some ham and red and green bell pepper, salt pepper and nut meg. You put the whole thing an oven dish, and top with panko, butter and parmesan mixture, broil for 10 minutes, and voila!!!
I would punch you if you brought Mac and cheese with shallot, celery, ham, and peppers.
Cheese, noods, maybe a topping. No veggies and meat
I like that version too, but it's more stiff, hence why you can cut it into blocks. But sometimes I (and esp the kids) like the super flowy/creamy version in the video. They are both great.
I also like the bechamel method because that's where I can saute some vegetables that become part of the sauce. I can't imagine mac & cheese without some onions, for example. However, I can see why this other method also has its place. Not every application for melted cheese requires a bechamel.
I've found when using a bechamel base, the thickening power of the flour means I can't add enough cheese to get the flavor as cheesy as I want it. It's either a nice texture and uncheesey, or has a nice strong cheese flavor and has a consistency of concrete. Liquid + cheese + sodium citrate is the way to go, for me.
To me the main difference is that the ATC version gives you more concentrated cheese flavor. With a bechamel, so much of the volume of the sauce is flour and milk. But this is much closer to pure cheese.
I've used this recipe several times and I definitely recommend it.
american cheese is like a pantry staple you keep in the fridge. it stays good for many months and has so many uses. i like using it and evaporated milk for a rich, creamy yet very stable sauce. a thin hollandaise or gravy can even benefit from half a slice of american cheese.
I discovered the sodium citrate method back when 'Breaking Bad' was all the rage. I was explaining my newfound chemical mastery to my daughter, but couldn't convince her to try it. I guess I was coming on a bit strong when I said "When it comes to Mac&Cheese- I AM the one who knocks!", because she yelled, "HEISENBERG!!" at me. 😂🤣😁
Wish the recipes from these episodes would be free to access.
But he mentions the recipe in the video to the gram, just write it down?
A chef in Portland, OR once shared their recipe for Sake Mac & Cheese with me that uses American cheese along with cheddar, Swiss and Parmesan and I have been unable to make any other recipe for mac and cheese since-it is divine.
Sodium citrate can easily be made at home using water, citric acid (found in many grocery stores in the bulk spice section or in the section with Mason jars for canning) and baking soda. I’ve done it and the homemade version works just as well as the online bought stuff. ATK should create a video on how to make SC at home or I suppose I could tell everyone if anyone wants to know. 🤷🏻♂️
Incorrect. Vinegar is acetic acid. You need citric acid to create sodium citrate. Baking soda won't work either. What people commonly refer to as sodium citrate is trisodium citrate and if you try making it with baking soda and citric acid you'll get monosodium citrate. Sodium citrate is cheap, just buy it.
Good idea for a follow-up. Thanks
Can’t wait to try this!!
Baking soda plus lemon juice equals sodium citrate. It makes that melty cheese so easy without buying some other ingredient
Well that sounds easy! Thanks!
You can also use the much more widely available citric acid, baking soda, and a small amount of water.
To the brave and very hungry soul who stumbled upon a forgotten bucket of moldy milk and decided to throw caution into the wind and eat it, I salute you sir. My life is so much better for your bravery (and outright hunger).
Yummy! I could watch you all day, Dan! ❤
I've gotten into homemade stove top mac recently and I like the way this last one looks. I've tried similar methods but never this specific one and I think I'll give it a try for my next one. Although I'll do one thing differently and use my preferred cheese blend.
Cheddar for sharpness.
Parm for mild saltiness and funk.
American for silky smooth texture.
There is a recipe from ATK long ago in the book Best Lost Suppers that is still my favorite - Martini Mac & Cheese, with olives and cocktail onions. I add a dash of vermouth. :)
I love adding smoked ham in my mac and cheese. I don't like most mac and cheese but I love mine. I also bake it. Oh my, so good
In addition to dry mustard and cayenne, I also add some Worcestershire sauce. Welsh rarebit-y, but so it goes.
Oooh! Yum!
worcestershire sounds great for mac and cheese!
I'm gonna have to make that mac n cheese and get one of those NACHO sweaters!
One of my favorite ingredients to add to Mac n Cheese is crispy bacon bits (or really crisped up carnitas.) So delicious!
Based off of other recipes I have started using unsweetened condensed milk when adding the cheese which is a bit of a game changer
However, growing up my mom would always save a ham bone and boil that off for a couple hours and create a ham broth with the extra leftover bits of ham. Cook the macaroni in that and it imparts all that salty, savory deliciousness that ends up in the end product.
You can add lemon to baking soda until the bubbles stop if you want to make your own citrate.
I thought they'd mention that
Absolutely! Do be wary yields may be...interesting, as were looking for citric acid to combine with the Sodium Bicarbonate and both the fruit and soda product will usually vary (sometimes significantly in the fruit). EOD all "should" be natural so why not
I've been using Sodium citrate in my cheese sauces for years and I can vouch for it being a game changer. Highly recommend 👌
There's an even better way. Using evaporated milk as the emulsifier.
What I don’t understand (and is not explained in this video) is why the “other” way-Ina Garten’s way-which doesn’t use sodium citrate works. She cooks milk and flour, then fold the cheese into that. And it’s very good (albeit a touch more fussy than this recipe).
@@jpp7783 Because starches and milk proteins both also act as emulsifiers
Chop up some string cheese and stir it in at the end for big gooey strings of cheese as you eat it. Also, any opportunity to combine cheddar cheese and kimchi is a win.
I put a layer of corn flake crumbs and paprika on top and then bake it to be crispy. My kids love the crispy edges of the pasta
I love that
Chili garlic sauce. And a little sprinkle of nutmeg. I've been using a slice of American cheese when I make my sauce to keep it emulsified for a while now, but I start with...I think it's a bechamel sauce and add spices and cheese. I like the idea of cooking the pasta in the water and milk!
I’m happy & you’re looking good. Yum yum to both 😊
I start with what my mom's old Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook calls a "white sauce" and grate in sharp cheddar, baby Swiss, and Cojack. Winner - delicious.
Yup---aka the "bechamel method." It's a classic.
🤣You sold the sweatshirt for sure!!!! Love this recipe and the science behind its yumminess!
When I make my mac and cheese. I use 2/3 American cheese and 1/3 cheddar cheese. This makes my mac and cheese so creamy and good.
The sodium citrate is a good idea, I'll have to try that. I can't use American cheese because I am lactose intolerant and it upsets my stomach, so if I am making a cheese sauce I like to use Cabot cheeses and lactose free milk. What I like to add depends on what I'm in the mood for, but I think a little smoked paprika, mustard powder and worchestershire sauce never hurts. Sometimes I like a sprinkle or two of arbol chili powder and some diced pickled jalapenos if I'm doing anything tex-mex adjacent.
You did not have to get back to the nerdy stuff. The sweatshirt is nerdy too. 😂Going to buy mine now!
Panko, Butter and Parmesan make a wonderful topping for alotta things.
annie’s white cheddar and tuna was a go-to growing up, i never ate kraft mac and cheese unless it was at friendlys hahah
The stovetop mac and cheese recipe you showed in the video has been my go to for several years. It's the best!
I love canned tomatoes in my M&C, baked or stove top. I am more likely to put Rotel (diced tomatoes with chilies) in a stove top version and whole tomatoes that I hand crush in baked. When I make baked M&C, I layer them in. I definitely have a preference for canned tomatoes for M&C, though I don't know why. Most other times fresh is best for me! 😂
I'm usually a purist but when I'm feeling fancy I add smoked salmon. Not lightly smoked/lox but fully smoked chunks of sockey.
You should note after the recipe links that "subscription required". :(
I love to put salsa in my Mac and cheese. Also, a little black bean soup mixed into Mac and cheese is fantastic.
I've used American cheese in my mac and cheess for over 30 yrs. It's what my grandmother used as well.
That's so cool!
Do you use American cheese or American "processed" cheese? I am wondering if it even matters.
@@gardenhappy4 American. Can't stand that nasty processed stuff.
I just use 4 oz shredded mild cheddar, 4 oz. heavy cream, and 4 oz. dry pasta. Cook the pasta normally. In a non-stick skillet, heat the cream and cheese over low heat, stirring constantly, until you have a smooth sauce. If you have sodium citrate, use that, too. Don't over heat it, or the cheese sauce will break. You don't want it to boil. Add the cooked and drained pasta to the skillet, and stirr until well combined. Add salt to taste. Serve immediately. Easy peasy.
If you don't have sodium citrate you can also use little of lemon juice (or citric acid) and mix it with little of baking soda. It would react and you would have sodium citrate.
Not really. The sodium citrate that results from reacting citric acid and sodium bicarbonate is monosodium citrate, and what you really want for emulsifying cheese is trisodium citrate.
Yep, it works. It kept my cheese smooth and melty.
@@gcvrsastill works as an emulsifier tho!
@@gcvrsa The monosodium works great - I've used it to make blue cheese whiz - great on burgers.
YES! I _just_ discovered this myself a few months ago, purely by accident! 😆 I'm a VERY SHARP cheddar fan and sometimes when my (béchamel based) sauce is ready for pasta it's just not as sharp as I'd like. Thinking "What can I add?" to brighten the sauce up I thought "What the heck, let's try a bit of lemon juice."
Now it's part of my go-to recipe!
Great video! Can we get a pepper video?
Kimchi mac & cheese!!
The thickness of the sauce will depend on the ratio of liquid to cheese. If you weigh the cheese and then add the liquid as a percent of the weight you will get:
Cheese plus 0% to 35% liquid - firm, molded cheese, cheese slices
Cheese plus 35% to 85% liquid - thick and flowing cheese sauce, good for dips and quesos
Cheese plus 85% to 120% liquid - thin cheese sauce, cheese foam, fondues, mac and cheese
Cheese plus 120% liquid or more - continues to become thinner and thinner.
The final ingredient is the sodium citrate, which causes the cheese to stay together as it melts. It's typically used in a 2.0% to 3.0% ratio of total liquid plus cheese weight.
Do you offer shipping on this amazing sweatshirt to Australia?
CAULIFLOWER! Midway through cooking the pasta I love adding a head of shredded cauliflower to let it finish cooking at the same time. All coated in scrumptious cheesy goodness with the same soft texture but with hidden fibrous nutrients, this variation is seriously addictive.
We need a What's Eating Dan on corn meal... Grits, polenta, stone ground etc. What's the difference? When do I want what for when?
What alternatives can you offer for someone on a low sodium diet?
My Swedish great grandmother put some beef broth in her mac n cheese. It tended cut the richness of the cheese a bit.
,,a cool video keep up the great content.. Thank you… Greetings Jörg
Awesome sweatshirt. Wish I could get it in Canada!
I add powdered sharp white cheddar cheese, it really ups the cheddar flavor. Crisp bacon bits, diced smoked ham, are also a good mix when you top it with buttered bread crumbs.
Most unexpected thing I put in mac and cheese: tomato sauce, or as have found I preferred, sliced cherry tomatoes. The rich mac and cheese + the acidic (and slightly sweet) tomatoes work really well together.
I fell in love with mac and cheese when I was in the states for a year, but when I returned home to Germany I could never recreate the delicious gooyness of the mac and cheese you guys make. Now I know why! None of the cheese kinds we have, has emulsifying salts in them. (And obviously you can not buy american cheese here) But thanks to you, Dan and the good ol' internet selling everything and anything, I will now be able to purchase sodium citrate and finally recreate delicious mac and cheese ❤
I once had a few bites of boar leftover from a fancy dinner party so I folded that into some leftover m&c. It was sooooo goooood.
Fun Fact: ‘Nacho’ means ‘Dance’ (the verb) in Bengali and Hindi.
Thank you, come again!
What is the closest substitute for American cheese among those widely available in Europe?
(my personal favorite is Gouda)
I have been putting BBQ sauce on my mac & cheese since I was a child! Just a dollop but its a great combo😋
I love this guy and all he does.
🙏
It always amazes me to remember that many Americans don't know what citric acid is, let alone own some in it's salt form (sodium citrate). It's such an easily obtained item in other parts of the world, and used in many applications besides making cheese melt.
what else can you use it for?
@@op3129 you can make sour candies with it (it's mixed with sugar and the candies are rolled in it), it can be used to get rid of scale on kettles, it's used in middle eastern cooking at times - for example it's often added in small amounts when making hummus. It's basically like adding lemon juice or vinegar without the liquid. It's also an ingredient in many soft drinks, not that that's exactly a "home use".
Add B & M baked beans! Yum
You can actually melt cheese in water with this then add spices, herbs or anything else you want. Pour out into a mold and let it come to room temp. As it cools it will harden back to it's original state. Slice it for sandwiches or whatever you desire. Homemade flavored cheese.
So if I can’t access American cheese (here in the wilds of NW England), can I just sprinkle in some sodium citrate to the second recipe? At what point? Please help this forlorn expat out 🙏🏽
It's actually the 2nd recipe called Cheesier Nacho Cheese Sauce that uses sodium citrate. You can dip chips in it or use it for mac and cheese like I do in the video. And it's laid out with ingredients in the video itself.
My mac and cheese has always been stick to your ribs simple. The classic buttery, cheesy, crispy panko topping is my favorite when baking it. Less is more when it comes to American classics imo.
We attempted the nacho cheese recipe for the Super Bowl this year. Somehow we ended up ordering sodium nitrate instead of citrate and the sauce didn’t come together at all. My husband tried eating some to make me feel better, but once we realized our mistake we called poison control. Everyone was fine, but it was traumatic and I think we will stick to the American cheese trick. We’ve made the Mac and cheese recipe many times with great success!
what is under your sweatshirt?
Add miso. 😊
Bacon or spam (crisped up of course) and peas. I know peas are perhaps an odd choice but honestly they're great
I always thought someone should brand sodium citrate as cheese salt
my blood type is velveeta. mac and cheese always has to have chopped up jalops or the little red sweet peppers that are prebagged for charcuterie or whatever. Corn and/or ham with jalops is good too.
Fellow Velveeta fan, I salute you! Velveeta, a bit of milk for consistency...
lol
Yes on mustard and also nutmeg.
That was great!
Is my understanding correct that white cheddar melts better than yellow cheddar? I thing I heard that from Martha Stewart ages ago.
I don't know about that, but I think mild cheddar is said to melt better than sharp cheddar. The mild cheddar I use works well in both mac and cheese and toasted cheese sandwiches,
Delicious! I have been making this for the past decade after getting the Modernist Cuisine at Home book from taking a science and cooking course online that Dan was actually a part of. Making scrambled eggs and searing a steak.
I usually make a "Maryland Crab Cake" version by adding lump crab meat and Old Bay seasoning to it. This is usually served during larger family gatherings and is ridiculously luxurious.
Wow, that sounds so good
I'm from Pasadena Maryland and I approve this message.
Homie throwing singles in the merch plug like he at the tiddy bar in Wisconsin 🤣🤣💪💪
just here for that sweater model!
I need that sweatshirt back in stock 😭
3:19 - Just a quick and easy timestamp for anyone who wants to get to this bit quick
I’ve made pork roll Mac n cheese plenty of times
Here for this NJ take.
I've topped with chili
Dan, as a fellow Dan, I absolutely love your videos. You're funny, love the recipes and I'm always enthralled by the amount of science you add to the food making process.
I would imagine that images and animation are out of your realm, but it sours the whole video experience to see these animatics made with AI art. It is the equivalent of enjoying a delicious meal and finding little chunks of butyric acid in my third spoon full.
Not sure if you know, but is a big deal in the art world right now. Dunno how much time you spend in RUclips, but you can see it happening in videos too. So many gross, inaccurate and derivative AI content/text to speech vids. This channel is too good to use AI slop.
In the ATK ads you point out how the illustrations in the book are hand made, which I'm genuinely thankful for. I would really appreciate for you to consider using real artists in your vids.
Sorry for the long message. Hope to see you eating more stuff soon!
Can I ask which part you think is AI generated?
Hi @@makenziegruenig7535. You can see them in the cheese making history drawings (around the 0:50 area), with the cartoony bodies with the realistic heads section.
Kraft's body has a bunch of random lines and inconsistent shadows. The horse and carriage as well, as there are random bits that don't belong in the drawing, inconsistent shapes and hatching, lines that merge incorrectly with other lines or shadows, bad back wheel placement and lack of a fourth wheel. Ultimately the bodies of Gerber and Stettler have similar random elbow fold lines/hatching issues. They also have extra fingers and malformed hands. These are all common telltales of AI art.
I know there's some photoshop involved in cutting holes to the carriage jpg to add the cheese drawings, but there are more signs within the illustration.
Hope you find this useful.
@makenziegruenig7535 sure! I did answer this a couple of days ago but it seems my comment was deleted. If you look at the caricatures, horse and horse carriage you'll see many inconsistent lines, clothes folds, shading and even badly drawn shapes (in the carriage for example, the placement of the back wheel and the missing fourth wheel, as well as the side panel that implies curvature while is flat). These are all common AI drawing inaccuracies.
For years I added cubed ham and green peas to my ATK bechamel mac & cheese but these days I only want dry mustard, nutmeg & a nice crumb topping
I’ve been a bechamel sauce and add any cheddar or hard cheese that’s shredded. Not perfect, but makes a good cheese sauce
So I was taught to make a roux, add small amount of cream, half and half or milk, (whatever I had) melt the cheddar or colby jack cheese in it, add drained cooked macaroni, cover with toasted panko crumbs and bake. The flour in the roux is similar to the starch water from cooking the macaroni but I get a thicker sauce. ??? No separation. No added Na Citrate....🤷♀️ must have the citrate in the cheese brand I use? Tillamook mostly.
The texture of a roux-base cheese sauce will just be different. There's a reason people love the Blue Box stuff - it's the American cheese. Using sodium citrate allows you to use your Tillamook Colby and Cheddar and get the 'right' texture.
Why wouldn’t flour give you a thicker sauce?
This may sound repulsive, but pickled or canned beets added right into boxed macaroni and cheese is surprisingly delicious.
I bet that's a fun color combo!
@@DanielJSouza It turns out pink and delightful!
How are the sweaters already out of stock? Orange XL must be popular : - /
The main recipe linked at the very top doesn't include sodium citrate located anywhere in the ingredients or instructions, just mentions it briefly in the note before it.
The sodium citrate is in the American Cheese.
@@liamharrell thanks, wasn't thinking about that. I was just surprised because in the actual video he's adding it as an ingredient. So I thought it was going to be a one for one, in terms of the video to the recipe!
It's actually the 2nd recipe called Cheesier Nacho Cheese Sauce that uses sodium citrate. You can dip chips in it or use it for mac and cheese like I do in the video.
@@DanielJSouza thank you! That definitely makes things clearer!
As a Canadian, this blasphemy against Kroff Dinner shall not stand, buddy.
What kind of pot is that? It looks like stainless lined aluminum.
I know, trust me I KNOW...can we use gorgonzola or blue cheese? I always just end up sprinkling it on the end with the bread crumbs but I really like blue cheese and it never works. Yes, I am swedish and yes I have eaten headcheese too but blue cheese is the bomb for me even if I get a tummy ache.
Andrea also developed a "grown up" version of her stovetop mac and cheese that uses 3.5 ounces of Gruyere plus a couple of tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese instead of the 4 ounces of cheese(s) in the recipe here. Looks like everything else is the same. 🤷🏼♀
Why water instead of milk with the sodium citrate?
This is a really good video with good recipe ideas. I like it a lot. But as with almost all ATK videos, it's just an add to subscribe to the website. The links above are NOT links to recipes as stated in the video. They are links to the subscription page. You have to sign up to get the recipes shown in the video. That's too deceitful and disappointing.
Enjoyed the scientific content.
Gastronomy 101 would call for classic mornay, but you can save that for another video.
Keep nerding, NACHO, Danimal.
I almost started the video with that! Ended up going the history of processed cheese route.
Sure, that's the 'classic' way most people make it. But there's a reason why people like the Blue Box stuff - it's the texture that American Cheese gives it.
@@kindablue1959 velvet is a slippery sister with it come to subjects culinaire.
@@kindablue1959 adorable nod to blue box. There is history, chemistry, high blood pressure, inflammation and diabetes and all kinds of fun stuff, all tightly snuggled in that cute little blue box.
@@trackzero0Such cliched nonsense. Kraft Mac n Cheese doesn't give you heart disease or diabetes - eating huge amounts of high fat and high calorie foods for every meal, drinking 5 cans of soda, eating no fresh vegetables, getting no exercise, and doing that for 20+ years is what makes you sick. Eating an occasional rich dish that gives you deep pleasure is what makes life worth living.
Similar to what the ATK cookbook calls "Classic Macaroni and Cheese" I use 50% mild cheddar and 50% Pepper Jack. The results are nice and creamy. (No sodium citrate. No American cheese.)
Yeah, that the 'classic' way, (also often with a roux based sauce) but it never comes out like the Blue Box stuff, which is what the American Cheese/sodium citrate adds.
Something truly odd that I sometimes add to my mac & cheese is wheat germ, and oddly enough it's for nostalgia. When I was a kid ( fifty years ago ), my Mom worked Wednesday nights, leaving my Dad to make dinner for the two of us guys. One non-Wednesday night, when my Mom asked what I wanted for dinner, I asked for mac & cheese "the way Dad makes it" -- and she was shocked and appalled to find out the difference between versions was that he had been making it with whole wheat flour! ( Cue the Incredibles "Math is math" meme, only with flour. ). So now I sometimes use whole wheat if I'm making it from scratch, or add wheat germ to the boxed type if I'm being lazy, for that extra wheat-y flavor.
wheat germ is new to me!
I cut the Guilt with vegetables... usually broccoli!