BAKED MAC ’N’ CHEESE
Unlike gooey stovetop mac ’n’ cheese, baked mac ’n’
cheese should have a tender, uniform, almost quiche-like
texture—we’re not looking for al dente noodles here.Of all the recipes in the book, this was perhaps the most
vexing. I spent months—literally months—trying out
various thickeners, emulsifiers, and techniques, using
everything from mayonnaise to pure soy lecithin to tapioca
to gelatin in an attempt to achieve the perfect tender texture,
with an intense cheese flavor.
Nothing seemed to work until I realized that the key
might not be in how the cheese is bound to the mac, but the
ratio. So I decided to increase the amount of cheese. A lot.
While a traditional mac ’n’ cheese recipe might call for a
pound of cheese per pound of pasta—at most a pound and a
half—I decided to go with a full 2 pounds. After all,
shouldn’t great mac ’n’ cheese really be all about the
cheese? I stuck with the evaporated milk that had worked so
well for my Ultra-Gooey Stovetop Mac ’n’ Cheese (here),
but for its creamier, softer baked cousin, a plain old white
sauce (albeit one made with a ton of cheese along with the
evaporated milk and eggs) was the way to go.
HOW STARCH THICKENS