u/mac_diaries

Happy "macaroni martes"! In week 1, our butter:flour:milk ratio was 1:1:5, which yielded a thick sauce. In week 2, our butter:flour:milk ratio was 1:1:8, but sauce consistency was skewed because it reduced and cooled too much in the initial tasting. Last week, our butter:flour:milk ratio was 1:1:10 which seemed to start soupy, and didn't feel as creamy.

This week, I gradually added milk until I reached a béchamel consistency that I like. Per Google, a good Béchamel consistency can coat the back of a spoon and stay parted if you draw a finger across it. I cooked my sauce on med-low heat for more control. I took pictures along the way, and noted the quantity of milk by weight.

Flavorwise, I stuck with 1/4 tsp salt, and 1 tsp each of black pepper and garlic powder. I pre-weighed my dry ingredients and preshredded my cheese ahead of time to hopefully cut down on time.

As you can see, there are a lot of intentional changes occuring week by week, which I will start documenting in "confounding factors". I love this project, but if I were to wait each week to make just a single change, I'd get bored and quit. Ultimately, this is just dinner.

The Method:

1. Make a roux with 2 Tbsp salted butter and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, cooked on low heat.

2. Incorporate 2% milk little by little, stirring continuously to make a béchamel sauce until satisfied. It ended up being nearly 3/4 cup of milk. Pictures attached.

3. Stir in 4oz by weight hand-grated mild cheddar to make a mornay sauce.

4. Season with 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, and 1tsp garlic powder.

5. Mix in cooked macaroni: 113g dry macaroni in boiled salted water, covered for 8 minutes, then fully drained. I reserved pasta water for leftovers, but didn't end up using it.

6. Enjoy.

Confounding factors

-Preweighed dry ingredients and pre-hand-shredded cheese will affect cook time

-Accidentally overpoured black pepper will affect flavor.

-Apparently freezing semi-hard cheeses could make them easier to grate, although I didn't notice that. This could affect consistency or flavor.

-The Creamette brand macaroni ran out, so now I'm using Aldi brand. They visually look the same, but this may affect pasta quality.

-Actually whisking the sauce instead of stirring with a silicon spoon hopefully will help with creaminess to reduce the grainy texture.

-Cooking the sauce on lower heat may affect consistency and flavor.

Objective Results

Total time to prepare: 21 minutes, 40 seconds, although I mucked around at first weighing my pots. This also makes me think that I underestimate the time it takes to do things... classic ADHD brain.

Yield in ounces by weight: 22.25 oz

Cost/yield using current American Aldi prices: $ $1.54

Nutrition/yield, using generic ingredients on MyFitnessPal:
1225 Cal. 113g carbs. 51g protein. 64g fat. 5g fiber. 13g sugar. 1563mg sodium. 195mg cholesterol

Subjective Results

Pasta quality: New pasta feels firmer? Maybe I'm reading into it too much. I do still have a bit of the old pasta- not enough for a full batch, so maybe I'll see if it's a noticeable difference.

Consistency/Creaminess: Soupy initially then thickened while cooling, making my second serving better.

Cheesiness: Cheesy. Bringing back the bit of salt helped.

Flavor: Peppery. Can tell I overpoured pepper because garlic isn't coming through.

Leftover factor: "I want seconds. Tempted to lick the bowl. Oh my god... seconds are even better- the noodles continued cooking, the sauce thickened... delightful. Fuck it, it's becoming lunch tomorrow."

My overall score:  8/10, 8.5/10 with bowl 2.

Boyfriend's overall score: Sorry, love! I can make it again tonight!

Field Notes

-Frozen cheese was terrible with my grater. I didn't chop it to fit at first, then I had to press so hard and these thin wisps would flake out, melt, and stick anywhere it landed.

-Cooking entertainment: Silence. Too busy measuring and taking pictures.

-Paired with: The rest of the milk. A long day. An early bedtime.

The Conclusion/Discussion

Overall, I am clearly a fan of the 1:1:6 ratio of butter:flour:milk, and I'll plan to use that going forward, while also using my judgment on consistency. I'm really surprised by how much more cooking the mac does in residual heat, so maybe I just need to let it sit about 15 minutes before eating. If I make it tonight, I'll save some pasta water for reheating leftovers.

A possible future week is adjusting the butter:flour ratio in the roux to experiment with the 1:1 ratio, but next week, because I have sharp cheddar, my goal is to see how sharp cheddar affects flavor. If I have enough energy, I may make a couple batches with different ratios of sharp to mild cheddar.

If you've read this far, thank you- these reports are wordy! Please note, I am not a professional researcher or chef, and I apologize to anyone who finds my lack of skill offensive. There will be some inherent inconsistencies in this project because I am using the ingredients I have on hand, in my kitchen, and cooking dinner after my meds wear off. I appreciate any constructive feedback and/or suggestions for the future, and I'm loving your kind comments as well. Thank you. :)

Happy "macaroni miercoles"! This past week felt stressful with work, and I originally didn't want to cook, but the study must go on! Last week, I had a flavorful but cold and grainy mac. This week, my goal was to make a béchamel with the 1:1:10 ratio of butter, flour, and milk as recommended by the chefs at Fallow, a fancy restaurant in London that has a lot of cooking videos on YouTube. I still haven't completely used their technique because I did not infuse the milk with any flavors (topic for a future week). Additionally, I didn't taste a difference between 1/4 tsp and 1/2 tsp of salt between weeks 1 and 2, so I also wanted to see if the additional salt actually added anything, or if the salt in the cheese and the butter was enough.

The Method:

1. Make a roux with 2 Tbsp salted butter and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, cooked on medium heat.

2. Incorporate 1 1/4 cup 2% milk little by little, stirring continuously to make a béchamel sauce.

3. Stir in 4oz by weight hand-grated mild cheddar to make a mornay sauce.

4. Season with 1 tsp black pepper, and 1tsp garlic powder. (I accidentally overpoured the pepper)

5. Mix in cooked macaroni: 113g dry macaroni in boiled salted water, covered for 8 minutes, then fully drained.

6. Enjoy.

Objective Results

Total time to prepare: about 20 minutes. I keep forgetting to set the timer.

Yield: 25.55 oz by weight

Cost/yield: $1.62, per current American Aldi prices.

Nutrition/yield per MyFitnessPal logging generic ingredients: 1288 Cal, 119g carbs, 56g protein, 67 fat, 5g fiber, 18g sugar, 1031mg sodium, 205mg cholesterol.

Subjective Results

Pasta quality: Same standard size, shape, and texture

Creaminess: Creamy. Looked very soupy at first, and then thickened in the few minutes of clearing down.

Cheesiness: Cheesy enough...

Flavor: I think it actually needs the 1/4 tsp salt, especially with the extra milk. I think the pepper and garlic are great, but the cheese flavor comes through less.

Boyfriend comments: Same pasta quality. Slightly more creamy compared to a typical mac, but not by much, maybe because it was reheated, slightly less grainy. Pepper and garlic shine through more. Less cheesy. More peppered.

Leftover factor: Wanted seconds on Monday, but wanted to share with boyfriend more. Leftovers reheated on stove on Tuesday maybe 0.5 point less than my original score because it was less creamy and had more pepper concentration.

Overall score:

Mine:  7.5/10, texture and spices were great. I think with that added salt, it'll be really good.

Boyfriend: 6-6.5 / 10. Too peppery. Less grainy than last week, but still noticeable maybe because reheated.

The field notes

-I wasn't in the mood to cook Monday at 10pm after a long day, but we persevered.

-Grater still stuck to cheese- hard to shred the last small bits. -Mixing in milk little by little helped make a smoother sauce.

-Cooking entertainment: none.

-Paired with old forgotten lunch salad, Dr. Pepper Zero, sadness in silence.

-Paired much better with salmon, sweet potato hash, water, Taskmaster, and a cuddle buddy.

The Conclusion/Discussion

The first day tasted pretty good, but I need to figure out how to better reheat the mac without compromising sauce texture.

Next week, my goal is to see how much milk makes my ideal béchamel. I'll also see if adding reserved pasta water to the leftovers helps the texture. I'm putting in the 1/4 tsp salt again. I pre-measured the dry ingredients to help with next week... and overpoured the pepper again (sorry in advance, love!)

If you've read this far, thank you. Please note, I am not a professional researcher or chef, and I apologize to anyone who finds my lack of skill offensive (I recognize that I do change many variables at a time...). There will be some inherent inconsistencies in this project because I am using the ingredients I have on hand, in my kitchen, cooking dinner after my meds wear off. I appreciate any constructive feedback and/or suggestions for the future.

I was originally going make "macaroni Monday" be a thing, but I delayed my cooking to "macaroni martes" instead. Last week, in my attempt to make a "standard" mac, I accidentally put less milk than intended, and I underseasoned it as well. This week, I increased the seasoning and the milk, but accidentally included the variables of time and temperature while waiting for my boyfriend to arrive.

**The Method:**

1. Make a roux with 2 Tbsp salted butter and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, cooked on medium heat.

2. Incorporate 1 cup 2% milk to make a béchamel sauce.

3. Stir in 4oz by weight hand-grated mild cheddar to make a mornay sauce.

4. Season with ~1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, and 1tsp garlic powder (I still consider garlic powder a basic seasoning).

5. Mix in cooked macaroni: 113g dry macaroni in boiled salted water, covered for 8 minutes, then fully drained.

6. Enjoy (Ideally immediately, and ideally warm).

**The Results**

*Objective*

Total time to prepare: about 20 minutes

Yield: 21.2 oz by weight

Cost/yield: $1.58, per current American Aldi prices.

Nutrition/yield per MyFitnessPal logging generic ingredients: 1258 Cal, 116g carbs, 54g protein, 66g fat, 5g fiber, 18g sugar, 2170mg sodium, 201mg cholesterol.

*Subjective*

Pasta quality: Same standard size, shape, and texture

Creaminess: Maybe because it sat for longer, but it was less creamy, more thick and dryer. Has a slight graininess.

Cheesiness: Same cheesiness.

Flavor: Better balance of seasoning. Better garlic and pepper flavor, somehow not saltier

Boyfriend comments: Noodle feels more standard. Thicker, maybe gritty, which makes it more like a midtier restaurant like an Applebees. Does not feel as rich as last week. Same cheesy (maybe slightly less cheesy flavor?). More seasoned (in a good way).

Leftover factor: TBD. The rest of dinner was really filling, so we did not go for seconds this time.

Overall score:

Mine:  7/10 Better flavor but worse texture so slightly worse than last week.

Boyfriend: 7.5-8/10. Seasoning helps.

**The field notes**

-Grater became easier to use, but cheese was still sticking to the device.

-Mise en place really helped save on time.

-Added milk all at once, which then required a lot of stirring, and I think contributed to the grittiness/graininess

-Dinner was waiting nearly an extra hour, and some of that time was simmering on low so the sauce had definitely reduced down.

-Paired well with roast pork loin, collard greens, crispy potatoes, a hard cider, and Taskmaster.

-Cooking entertainment provided by a Daddy Yankee playlist.

**The Conclusion/Discussion**

Overall, the mac was fine, obviously influenced by cooling down, and hopefully the reheated leftovers prove that. I was also hangry by the time we ate, which could have influenced my scores (the delay was due to time blindness on my part and miscommunication in general). I'll keep the 1tsp black pepper and garlic powder but decrease the salt back down again because the 1/2 tsp didn't seem noticeable compared to the 1/4 tsp.

I'll try it again with less wait time and better bechamel incorporation, adding the milk to the roux little by little. I'll also try the 1:1:10 béchamel ratio, as shown by Fallow's YouTube channel (thank you for the tips u/ace72ace), and eventually also play around with reserved pasta water.

If you've read this far, thank you. Please note, I am not a professional researcher or chef, and I apologize to anyone who finds my lack of skill offensive. There will be some inherent inconsistencies in this project because I am using the ingredients I have on hand, in my kitchen, cooking dinner after my meds wear off. Additionally, the boyfriend may only be present to judge day-old leftovers in future weeks. I appreciate any constructive feedback and/or suggestions for the future.

I love mac and cheese and the scientific method. I've been burned out from moving and adjusting to a new job, and this is the ~~first~~ only side project I've had in a while. My goal is to make mac and cheese once a week and to focus on a new variable each time to see what makes the perfect mac for me. This week, my intention was to make the bog standard mac and cheese, per Google... but I fucked up and added less milk than planned.

**The Method:**

1. Melt 2 Tbsp salted butter on medium heat then mix 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour.

2. Incorporate (was supposed to be 1 cup, but I didn't read my own notes properly) 1/2 cup 2% milk until smooth. I ended up needing to use an extra 1/8 cup to accomplish this.

3. Stir in 4oz by weight (=1 cup, apparently?) hand-grated mild cheddar.

4. Season with ~1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder (I consider garlic powder a basic seasoning).

5. Mix in cooked macaroni: 113g dry macaroni in boiled salted water, covered for 8 minutes, then fully drained.

6. Enjoy.

**The Results**

*Objective*

Total time to prepare: about 30 minutes

Yield: 19.35 oz by weight

Cost/yield: $1.42, per current American Aldi prices.

Nutrition/yield per MyFitnessPal and generic ingredients: 1204 Cal, 103g carbs, 51g protein, 66g fat, 4g fiber, 11g sugar, 1004mg sodium, 193mg cholesterol.

*Subjective*

Pasta quality: Normal texture shape and size.

Creaminess: Very creamy, likely because less milk was used than intended.

Cheesiness: Good cheese flavor.

Flavor: Muted, especially compared to the other foods we had for dinner, but on it's own, the garlic came through more. Pepper did not come through, just visually.

Boyfriend comments: Thought it was thicker pasta (brand was Creamette). Creamy like a restaurant mac. 6-7/10 on the cheesy side. Underseasoned, but a rich cheesiness lent itself well with the thickness of the pasta.

Leftover factor: N/A. We both had seconds.

Overall score: 7.5/10 for me, 6.5/10 for boyfriend, when compared to other macs.

**The field notes**

-Grating cheese with my new Ikea rotary grater was a learning curve, and the most time-consuming step.

-Butter got slightly brown because I was too focused on grating cheese.

-Paired well with supermarket-sale fried chicken, sauteed cabbage, and Taskmaster.

**The Conclusion/Discussion**

Overall, a pretty good mac. I'm curious to see how much looser the consistency will be with 1 full cup of milk. Also planning to increase the black pepper and garlic powder.

If you've read this far, thank you. Please note, I am not a professional researcher or chef, and I apologize to anyone who finds my lack of skill offensive. There will be some inherent inconsistencies in this project because I am using the ingredients I have on hand, in my kitchen, cooking dinner after my meds wear off. Additionally, the boyfriend may only be present to judge day-old leftovers in future weeks. I appreciate any constructive feedback and/or suggestions for the future.