Many, many years ago, a close friend was lamenting about one of the foods she and her family would miss most when things collapsed, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Because my husband had also corrupted our children into thinking that macaroni and cheese from a box was better than homemade, I had already dealt with the problem of obtaining the neon orange cheese powder. In the interest of providing them some familiar comfort food when life got stressful, I wanted to make sure we could make a reasonable facsimile of the blue box stuff.
So, I told her where she could purchase the cheese powder. And she quickly replied that she didn’t want just any generic cheese powder. And I just as quickly let her know it was real Kraft cheddar cheese powder.
She bought it, made her own mac and cheese mix, and was perfectly delighted with the results.
Unfortunately, San Francisco Herb no longer sells the Kraft powder or any cheese powder. However, there are a lot of cheese powder options on Amazon. Some have more cheese than others. White cheddar, gourmet, premium. They’ve got something that is just cheddar cheese powder and nothing else, no additives, nothing. There is no way for me to test all of them out.
When King of the Picky Eaters and I went grocery shopping last month, he picked up some Pasta Roni package of white cheddar and shells. He said it looked like the box of Trader Joe’s Shells and White Cheddar that he and his siblings really like (most of them have matured a bit in their tastes) but at half the cost. I got to thinking I could come up with an updated mac and cheese mix for them. It would have the added bonus of being able to make just the amount they wanted—no wasting half the package because there wasn’t someone around to share it with.
This first recipe is from America’s Test Kitchen and is supposed to duplicate the blue box stuff.
Mix well and store in airtight container for up to 2 months.
For one serving, boil ½ cup elbow macaroni and 1 teaspoon of salt and cook until al dente or desired firmness. Drain and return macaroni to saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon butter (or coconut oil) and ¼ cup mac and cheese mix. For added creaminess, also add 1-2 tablespoons of milk.
Reviews: Becky and Aaron liked this one best. They say it's reasonably close to store-bought. I won’t eat the boxed stuff until the offerings are truly limited—liver and onions, fish, calamari. Then I would eat it.
I don’t really like most of the cheese powders sold online—I don’t want the food coloring, artificial preservatives and additives, and other flavor enhancers, whatever they are. And they are expensive. Like many people, I wondered whether I could just powder up some freeze-dried cheese and use it in place of the commercial cheddar cheese powder.
I followed the above recipe proportion-wise; I just scaled
it down in case we didn’t like it. And
was it ever awful! I had a sneaking
suspicion that one could not just substitute powdered freeze-dried cheddar
cheese straight across for “cheddar cheese powder.” This little test
confirmed the terrible truth. The artificial flavors and other enhancers in the commercial package are essential. I also tried doubling the amount of cheese and adding a tiny bit of dry mustard, salt, and onion powder. No go. It wasn't as bad, but it still wasn't anywhere near good.
Next, with their SOS Mix recipe book download, the Utah State University Cooperative Extension included a recipe for making macaroni and cheese with SOS Mix. I decided to give that a try—I’m not opposed to a convenient stove-top macaroni and cheese dish even though baked macaroni and cheese is the gold standard for me. Becky and I had it for lunch one day and it tasted fine, but very chicken-y, which isn’t something I really want in my mac ‘n cheese. USU’s SOS Mix as written contains chicken bouillon and several other herbs and seasonings. I don’t notice the chicken bouillon flavor in the other dishes we make with SOS Mix, but it definitely comes through in the macaroni and cheese.
In a small
saucepan over medium heat, whisk SOS Mix with water until well blended. Cook and stir on stovetop until thickened,
about 8 minutes. Serves 4.
Reviews. Becky and I both thought it was quite acceptable, but we wouldn’t call it macaroni and cheese. The chicken bouillon flavor definitely masks the cheese.
I then wondered how a toned-down SOS Mix would work to make macaroni and cheese.
I used the same recipe and instructions as above under the SOS Mix Macaroni and Cheese.
Reviews. Aaron said it was too starchy; however, I thought this one was the best.
Note. Something I learned by powdering up the freeze-dried cheese this week--it starts clumping together very quickly. Be prepared to deal with that eventuality if you don't use all the cheese powder immediately.
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