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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 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 I f you get right down to it, starch is a tiny molecule used by plants to store energy, but, more important, it’s a vital tool in the culinary arsenal, used to thicken gravies, add body to stews, and prevent sauces from breaking and turning greasy There are two basic varieties Amylose resembles a long straight chain, made up of thousands of glucose molecules Amylopectin resembles a small clump of weeds—bushy, with many entangled branches When dispersed into a liquid, the long amylose molecules have a tendency to get tangled up with one another, sticking together and forming a loose matrix that adds viscosity Amylopectin will the same thing, but since it’s so compact, it does so less efficiently The amylose and amylopectin contents of various starches determine their thickening power ... into a liquid, the long amylose molecules have a tendency to get tangled up with one another, sticking together and forming a loose matrix that adds viscosity Amylopectin will the same thing,... used by plants to store energy, but, more important, it’s a vital tool in the culinary arsenal, used to thicken gravies, add body to stews, and prevent sauces from breaking and turning greasy There are two basic varieties Amylose... thing, but since it’s so compact, it does so less efficiently The amylose and amylopectin contents of various starches determine their thickening power
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