Creamy or casserole-y? Some people like their mac n cheese incredibly creamy and gooey, while others like it dense and sliceable. That’s why – as you’ll see – I went rogue. On the other hand, custard can leave you with a dry and grainy final product. The flour in bechamel can make mac n cheese overly starchy while diluting the flavor. What’s better depends on your tastebuds, but what’s best (IMHO) turned out to be neither. Bechamel or custard? In this case, neither! Traditionally, Southern Macaroni and Cheese features an eggy custard base while the rest of the country leans towards a bechamel sauce of flour, butter, cream, and cheese. (More on that in a minute.) Generally, using more kinds of cheese will increase the depth of flavor in your finished product however, too many strong, aged, or oily cheeses can overpower your mac regardless of how many varieties you use. Instead, it had more to do with the types of cheeses. How many cheeses is too many? I’d love to give you a magic number – this is Magic Mac and Cheese after all! But despite exhaustive testing, I found that there really wasn’t an optimum number of cheeses. But is it truly macaroni and cheese if you don’t use macaroni? That’s for you to decide, but personally, I’m sticking with the classic. I love crazy shapes as much as the next girl, and I’ll admit that shells are great for catching cheese sauce. 
What shape pasta is best? Elbow macaroni. For instance, should the best mac and cheese recipe be roux-based or custard-based? Should the cheeses be deeply flavorful or mild enough to please picky eaters? Should it have a breadcrumb topping or just bubbly, browned cheese? I could go on all day.Īfter testing every variable I could think of, these five factors stood out as the most important. I know this because like I said, I had a lot of questions and set out to answer every. Like the great cornbread debate, it turns out that our mac and cheese tastes (or at least our opinion on what makes a “classic” mac) has a lot to do with our cultural background. To get to the bottom of “what makes Macaroni and Cheese great?”, there are a TON of questions with just as many passionate responses. Four months later, I’m here to finally deliver on that promise. I spent the rest of the summer reimagining it until I reached peak cheese flavor, control over the level of creaminess, and a ridiculously easy-to-make recipe. While their version was easier than my original, it didn’t deliver the same down-home flavor or satisfying texture. But just when I was satisfied the dish was perfect, I stumbled across a NY Times’ Mac N Cheese variation that didn’t require you to make a roux OR boil your pasta, and I was intrigued. I served it at a family reunion to rave reviews and its own “yummy dance”, invented by my 6-year-old cousin. But anyone who has read my cookie rants knows what a perfectionist I am… and so here we are.īy the Fourth of July, I’d nailed down a version that featured a velvety cheese sauce, a beautifully browned panko topping, and a blend of cheeses balanced for ample flavor and melting power. 
Because while everyone else was doing #hotgirlsummer, I was huddled over my sink shoveling batch after batch of mac and cheese into my mouth.Īnyway, I had high hopes of unveiling “the perfect mac n cheese recipe” in time for Memorial Day Weekend. Should I have started the project in the fall? Probably. This spring I set out to create the easiest, cheesiest, most satisfying macaroni and cheese recipe of all time.
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