Ok so I have always been fascinated with molecular gastronomy and even went so far as to do a 2 day stage at Alina Restaurant, Chicago. So when I came across this recipe for Mac & Cheese I had to try it! One day I hope to be able to afford to buy Modernist Cuisine!
Ok I knew from the start the recipe below was going to be not so good. Most molecular type recipes are very precise and weighed in grams.
I found this recipe to salty for my taste.
This recipe called for adding the cheese mix to the macaroni water and all. But how much water do you cook your macaroni in? My try came out to watery but on the plus side I drained the noodles and was able to reduce the cheese sauce by boiling and it didn’t break!
So here is my slightly tweaked recipe. Which I my tweak further in the future. Just a couple simple changes reducing the salt (you can always add more at the end) and draining the macaroni and saving the water. Mix in cheese and add water a little at a time until you get the consistency you like. A rather easy fix in my opinion.
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup light beer
- 1/2 tsp salt (originally 1 tsp which I found to salty)
- 2 tsp sodium citrate (weighed 10 grams)
- 1/4 tsp Iota carragreen (weighed 0.8 grams)
- 3/4 cup grated Gouda cheese
- 1/4 cup shred sharp Cheddar
- 1 cup elbow macaroni
- 4 cups water
- and some pepper to taste because I like it!
Whisk together water, beer, salt, sodium citrate, Iota carragreen and bring to a simmer in a saucepan. Next whisk in cheese until emulsified and place mixture in refrigerator for about 30 minutes to set into a gel. Bring you water to a boil and add macaroni and cook for 8-10 minutes until done. Drain macaroni reserving the water. Whisk in you cheese mixture to the macaroni. Add small amounts of reserved water until desired consistency is achieved. Season with pepper if you so choose and enjoy!
I have to say this was pretty easy and tasty recipe with a clean cheese taste.





