What makes macaroni and cheese grainy

While I get that there are 5 food groups, in my world, there are 8. Sure we have dairy, fruit, grain, lean meats and proteins, veggies but for me, I also like to consider pizza, bacon, and cheese as their own separate food groups. Oh sure I know they technically fall under the other 5 but these other 3 play such a high role in my life that they deserve their own group.

In my household, and specifically my fridge, I have an entire cheese drawer with nothing but cheeses in it. And yes I do like Velveeta by the way. That stuff is the bomb for a creamy cheese sauce! Instead, it was grainy or gritty? Kind of gross, huh? So there are a few reasons why this happens and what you want to avoid. I learned this the hard way. Like Lori says use a ratio if possible.

Use love, you will be loved. For the brave, try substitute a little Bacon Fat into the Oil ratio. They are made from milk, fats, and water. When dairy curdles, the proteins separate from the liquid and form curds.

There are many reasons why sauces containing dairy curdle. It is hard to achieve a smooth consistency in dairy-based sauces made with low-fat products or skim milk. The latter curdles quicker than milk with a high fat content. Ingredients that contain acid can make your dairy-based sauce gritty. Thus, it is only natural that adding these ingredients to dairy-based sauces causes them to separate. When making dairy-based sauces, bring the amount of acidic ingredients in the sauce to the minimum to avoid major texture changes.

High heat and dairy-based sauces are not friends. When making sauces that contain dairy products, including cheese, keep the heat low. Now that you know the basic rules of making dairy-based sauces, here are some of the key rules you should follow when making cheese sauces. Taking these steps will help you avoid gritty cheese sauces.

Roux is a mixture of fat and flour. Equal parts of flour and fat are mixed until they blend into a smooth paste. Roux is the foundation of many cheese sauces. Never skip the step of making a roux, as it is one of the main ingredients that thickens the sauce and helps to achieve a rich and smooth texture.

When making cheese sauces, it is recommended to make a roux using not oil but butter. Substituting cornstarch for flour to make a roux is not a good idea either. Both oils and cornstarch can make the roux clumpy. This, in its turn, will result in a gritty cheese sauce. As mentioned earlier, when working with dairy-based sauces, it is important not to use high heat.

With cheese sauces, maintaining low heat throughout the entire cooking process is simply essential. Thanks to low heat, the cheese heats and melts evenly without curdling, burning, or congealing. Cheese sauce made with cheese that went from the fridge straight into the hot saucepan has a high chance of curdling.

But if it's 3 cups of milk or combined liquid, it's 3 cups of cheese. And the second it stirs in in a figure-eight, the second it melts in, I remove it from the heat. And already have your pasta waiting. Immediately toss it together and put it into the casserole [dish]. This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors. If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page.

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