Fannie Farmer's Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Reviews

• "jensafrk commented that this recipe ''tastes like raw flour.'' The problem may be in making the roux, which is the carefully cooked, equal quantities of flour and butter. You must begin with low heat and the mixture must be stirred constantly to avoid scorching the flour. Start by melting the butter over low heat. When the foaming begins to subside, add the flour (do not include the salt and pepper yet) and stir constantly, watching the color of the mixture. It should become a light, nutty brown color. This may take five minutes or so. Do not go by the clock, but rather by the color. If the process is stopped too soon, while still white, it will taste like raw flour. If it gets too brown, the flour has scorched and it will taste burnt. As soon as the color is right, slowly add the room-temperature milk/cream in increments, continuing to stir constantly. When all of the milk has been added, turn the heat up to medium high and continue stirring until it begins to bubble, then reduce heat to a simmer and and continue stirring until it thickens. You now have the basic white sauce, béchamel, upon which many other cream sauces are built. In this recipe, that is a cheese sauce. Add the salt and pepper at this point and continue the recipe."

  By jehaas on December 30, 2010 | 1177208

• "Good classic recipe for mac 'n cheese. Too bad DIVA 43 chooses to negatively comment about a recipe that wasn't even attempted. personally, I'm not interested in an opinion that does nothing but pontificate,,,bottom linr is DIVA43, get a life or keep your opinions to yourself. This is a community of foodies - something you are obviously not. No one is interested in you telling us how "unhealthy" a recipe is."

  By Chef Hammer on January 03, 2011 | 1178746

• "I agree with Minnie Chef, BUT, when something has been around 63 years without changes PLEASE go by the old rule. "IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT". Stop forever experimenting with everything. Enjoy the CLASSICS as they were meant to be. AS IS. There may be a few of you that can really be all that good with what some combinations are going to end up as. But, very few. I am not talking to those of you that have medical or dietary demands on your intake. I am talking to those of you that don't even give the original recipe a chance. NUFF said. Enjoy it as written then if you feel it needs a change go for it. BON APETITE, Cap'n Jack."

  By Firehousecook AKA Cap'n Jack on March 12, 2009 | 826344

• "I have made this before. It was in an old fanny farmer cookbook I had but lost in one of our moves several years ago. It is a very creamy recipe and one of the best I have ever made. And I have made alot. No changes need to be made to this recipe. Some of the old ones are the best. This is one of them."

  By garnetrose26_8970679 on December 30, 2010 | 1177257

• "This is great. I omit the bread crumbs because I don't really care for them. I mix up the cheeses a little: I use one cup of grated sharp cheddar and ~1 cup of Velveeta (don't shoot! - it's really the only way I've found to get that super-creamy mac & cheese that everyone loves so much). I also add a ton of black pepper to the roux with the salt. I reserve a little of the grated cheddar to sprinkle on top in place of the bread crumbs. Fantastico!"

  By Mereaux on August 10, 2010 | 1138148

• "Great recipe! But I respectfully disagree completely with the statement that "if you use cheap cheese, you will end up with a bland and flavorless dish". This is rediculous. I would say that if you use mild or medium cheddar, these are indeed the results you will get. But the price of the cheese will make no difference whatsoever, just as long as you go sharp sharp on your type of cheese. Go ahead and save your money! This dish rocks!"

  By LeslieBham on March 27, 2011 | 1204757

• "I make this recipe frequently, using all milk instead of cream. I also add a small amount (maybe a tablespoon) of minced onion to the sauce. It is wonderful! Even onion haters love it!!!"

  By GailWig on December 30, 2010 | 1177262

• "This is a classic and by far one of the best Mac and Cheese receipes ever created . For a little extra flavour and a little heat I too add up to a teaspoon of dry mustard, several shakes of Tobasco. A couple of Roma tomatoes that have been seeded and chopped add colour and for additional taste I also cube two healthy slices or more of smoked ham and add it to the casserole. This has been fantastic comfort food for years and will continue to be in my books."

  By Bob in Mexico on December 30, 2010 | 1177210

• "Ok, I am going to fess up right here and now to "jumping to conclusions." I have long been in search of the "best" macaroni and cheese recipe. To do that, I went straight to the top of 'Zaar, and started making the #1 rated recipe. I loved it, and it got rave reviews, but my best friend here didn't deem it "perfect", although she wasn't clear on exactly what was missing. So I began to peruse the "runner ups" and found this recipe. The first time I made it, I could see that it was going to be better than #1. It is creamy, rich, and delicious. I have varied the recipe every time with the following modifications and NOT ONE of them made it any less delicious - 1. Lactose (almost) free using Cabot cheddar cheeses (no lactose) and Lactaid whole milk. 2. Low(er) fat - using regular 2% milk, one 8oz Velveeta (less fat than Cheddar) and 1 8oz 50% less fat Cabot. I also need to point out to any reviewers who find this "bland", the seasonings are on you. You need to taste it when you are making the white sauce to be sure that is well seasoned, and taste it again after the cheese is added. I add Cayenne pepper to every macaroni and cheese I make, and I am sure at the end I added more salt and pepper. Only way to make a dish perfect is to taste it all the way through. Kudos, Carla, this recipe has finally been deemed "perfect.""

  By KylerEsq on March 24, 2009 | 833626

• "This recipe is almost identical to the one my mother always made. She was a farmer's wife. Baking mac and cheese does give it a different texture and flavor than what you find in the blue box or most cafeterias. My mom always used the oldest cheddar cheese she could get. You know, the stuff that makes the kitchen stink like sports socks and makes your face tingle if you eat it uncooked. She would just cut the mold (penicillin) off and crumble it. As well, she was never one to waste anything so she would save the little bits of other cheese and use them as well. Sometimes she added just a little blue cheese. It was always similar in taste, but never exactly the same due to the combination of leftover cheese. Delicious!"

  By Chef #600492 on September 23, 2010 | 1149185

• "I have an 1896 fannie farmers boston cooking school cookbook which I inherited from my great gramma. She is the first one who first made this dish for me when I was a child. My gramma and mom ALWAYS made mac and cheese this way. Lazy me slipped into making the "blue box" when my children were young because it was quick and easy, and have to admit I still use occasionally as a quick side, although I always found it to be too "velveety" tasting. I bought velveeta once and thought it was gross, reminds me of that disgusting yellow american cheese. (my opinion only, but I really don't like the stuff) Anyhow, getting off track here, I saw this recipe on here, and had to make it again, the recipe is the same in the in the 1896 version of cookbook by the way, now my husband in general HATES macaroni and cheese, reminds him of school cafeteria food. I made this last night, following recipe exactly, and he ate half of a 9 by 13 baking dish of it with sliced fresh tomatoes from the garden, couldn't believe it was mac and cheese and tasted this, and bought memories of gram and great gramma back to me. Thank you for posting. The only other comment is if you want 'blue box or velveeta" stay with it, they don't do it for me, this is a different grown up flavor which is wonderful. Don't mess with the original. This is fantastic, despite the time involved, always worth it."

  By bunnylove in NEW ENGLAND on July 25, 2010 | 1133637

• "Excellent macaroni! It's important to cook the flour and butter mixture for a few minutes before adding the milk and cream, to get rid of the "flour" taste. It's standard when making a roux or bechamel. I'm guessing some people who complained of bland flavor didn't cook it properly."

  By Chef_Chris on February 06, 2011 | 1189194

• "Just wanted to add a review so I can remember what size of dish to use since the recipe doesn't specify. (8x8 or 9x9)"

  By Chef #742955 on June 03, 2010 | 1109936

• "LOVE this recipe! Please follow the chef's advice and DON'T use cheap cheese! Or Velveeta. Shudder. Buy a block of good-quality cheddar and shred it. After the first time, we made a couple of changes, but it was delicious as written as well. I use cracker crumbs instead of buttered bread crumbs, whole milk instead of milk/cream, and sprinkle a little paprika on top. My husband also insists that we make it "saucier" so I make 1.5 times the sauce. Delicious!"

  By Amy Martin KV on October 11, 2010 | 1153683

• "Used Adam's Reserve Sharp Cheddar and since I didn't have cream I used 1/2 c half and half, 1/2 cup sour cream. I decided at the last minute NOT to bake this, since it was so creamy and the cooking of the sauce on the stove took away the raw flour taste. So, I had this on the table in the time it took to boil the macaroni, drain it and mix it into the sauce I made while the mac cooked-20 minutes max! Served with stewed tomatoes. Fabulous recipe, thank you for sharing! It is my new fave!"

  By Elainia on September 12, 2010 | 1146166

• "If my husband could have this every night, I would have no need for any other recipe. I'm sorry that I haven't rated this until now. We both loved this. I only made a few changes to suit our preferences. I added about a 1/2tsp of garlic, we used 2% milk, and low fat cream. I topped it with panko crumbs and after baking I put it under the broiler for about 4 minutes to give it an added crunch. Thank you Carla."

  By Mandanagans on October 26, 2008 | 733613

• "BEST mac 'n cheese EVERRRR!!!"

  By Chef #1098326 on December 31, 2010 | 1178250

• "YUMMMY!!! I have searched for years for a great mac and cheese recipe. This one is the best by far the kids love it and it is always requested when going to friends. I double it and it fits nicely into a 9x13. I did switch regular bread crumbs for panko crumbs and mix some extra grated cheese. And do be sure to follow step 7 and simmer and stir for 10 mins....to little and it doesnt turn out right."

  By Claycup on August 13, 2009 | 925803

• "I started with this recipe a while back and it has been a staple ever since I figured out how to make the roux without burning it. Over time I have made a few changes to make me feel not so guilty about eating it constantly. I use only milk instead of milk and cream and I add a half brick of frozen spinach, thawed and drained, when I stir in the pasta. I also add a half tsp of red pepper flakes into the flour to give it just a little bit of heat. And I mix Italian bread crumbs and Panko on top for crunch and flavor. I know that's a lot of little changes but I learned a lot from this recipe and want to give credit where credit is due."

  By MissiStroh on January 20, 2011 | 1184216

• "This was really good the way I made it, but I played with it a little. I added dry mustard powder to it, along with some paprika, and I didn't measure the cheese ( I just used what was left, which I am sure was more than 2 cups.) I think though that it would have been bland if I had followed the instructions. Oh, I also added in the very tops of some broccoli, to try to get my son to eat it without realizing that he was :) It worked. He gobbled it up!"

  By Vyxie's Kitchen on February 25, 2011 | 1195193