2008 Woodie Awards
Rhody Eat Beat: Mac 'n' cheese, ready to please
Rebecca Long
Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: Editorial/Opinion
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11/08/07 - One Saturday night, I gathered together a group of friends in an attempt to answer a question that has plagued humanity since the beginning of time: Is the macaroni and cheese in the blue box really the cheesiest? To determine this, I did a blind taste test of five varieties of boxed macaroni and cheese.
To my great surprise, the hands-down winner was Velveeta. Although I dislike the shell-shaped pasta because it tends to cook inconsistently and clump together, my guests preferred it. They felt the shells were better at capturing the sauce and flavor. Despite this, one guest still commented that the sauce "tastes more like plastic than I'd like it to."
In my taste testing, I actually thought the Velveeta sauce had less flavor than your standard Kraft sauce, and the fact that the "cheese" sauce is pre-made also scares me a little. I prefer to mix my milk and butter in myself so I know at least some of the ingredients are relatively fresh.
A close runner-up to the Velveeta was regular Kraft. Although it ranked second, I didn't get many positive comments about it. One common complaint was that the sauce flavor was powdery; a downside to having a powdered "cheese" sauce as opposed to Velveeta's premixed sauce. Kraft's claim to be the "cheesiest" was also challenged by the feedback, while one guest commented that it tasted "almost like cheese" another felt it was "hardly suggestive of cheese."
In third place was Stop & Shop's version of macaroni and cheese. The most common comments were that it was bland or average-tasting. Although one guest commented that it "tastes like Kraft," several others felt the Kraft was cheesier. Although it ranked slightly lower than the Kraft, the lower price may warrant this sacrifice.
Ranking much lower than the other two Kraft products, Velveeta and regular Kraft, was Easy Mac. The complaints all centered on the quality of the pasta. Guests complained that the noodles were mushy and had a "lack of any structural integrity." Several guests were even referred to them as "flaccid."
To my great surprise, the hands-down winner was Velveeta. Although I dislike the shell-shaped pasta because it tends to cook inconsistently and clump together, my guests preferred it. They felt the shells were better at capturing the sauce and flavor. Despite this, one guest still commented that the sauce "tastes more like plastic than I'd like it to."
In my taste testing, I actually thought the Velveeta sauce had less flavor than your standard Kraft sauce, and the fact that the "cheese" sauce is pre-made also scares me a little. I prefer to mix my milk and butter in myself so I know at least some of the ingredients are relatively fresh.
A close runner-up to the Velveeta was regular Kraft. Although it ranked second, I didn't get many positive comments about it. One common complaint was that the sauce flavor was powdery; a downside to having a powdered "cheese" sauce as opposed to Velveeta's premixed sauce. Kraft's claim to be the "cheesiest" was also challenged by the feedback, while one guest commented that it tasted "almost like cheese" another felt it was "hardly suggestive of cheese."
In third place was Stop & Shop's version of macaroni and cheese. The most common comments were that it was bland or average-tasting. Although one guest commented that it "tastes like Kraft," several others felt the Kraft was cheesier. Although it ranked slightly lower than the Kraft, the lower price may warrant this sacrifice.
Ranking much lower than the other two Kraft products, Velveeta and regular Kraft, was Easy Mac. The complaints all centered on the quality of the pasta. Guests complained that the noodles were mushy and had a "lack of any structural integrity." Several guests were even referred to them as "flaccid."