Mac and Cheese Science: What Makes a Thick Sauce?

1. Measure one hundred grams of American cheese, cut it into cubes and put it on an empty plate. Important: Be sure to have an adult help you when you are using the knife.
2. Measure one hundred grams of mild cheddar, cut it into cubes and add it to the plate with the cubes of American cheese.
3. Repeat the previous two steps, preparing a second plate with cubed American and cubed mild cheddar cheese.
4. Cut off 1/8 cup of butter and add it to the plate that is still empty. Repeat this two more times, adding butter to the two plates that have cheese on them.
5. Put the flour, tablespoon, milk, liquid measuring cup and any spices you would like to add within reach.
6. Fill the three tall glasses with the cooked macaroni, leaving about one to two inches at the top for the sauce. In a moment, you will pour 3/4 cup of sauce over this macaroni to measure how easily the sauce flows.

1. Look at this ingredients list for the macaroni and cheese sauce.
   1. 1/8 cup of butter (the amount of butter on one plate)
   2. 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour
   3. Ground black pepper, ground nutmeg or other spices you might like
   4. 1 cup milk
   5. 100 grams American cheese and 100 grams mild cheddar cheese, cut into cubes (this is the amount of cheese on one plate)
   6. When mixed together in the right way, these ingredients yield a nice thick sauce that sticks to your macaroni and lingers in your mouth. Milk is very runny; do you think it would stick to your pasta? Which ingredient(s) do you think will help the sauce thicken and stick better to the macaroni? Can you explain why you think one or more of these ingredient(s) will make the sauce thicker?
2. Now that you have made a hypothesis (or a guess based on your current knowledge), you can start the test. You will make three sauces, one with all the ingredients as listed, a second with everything except the flour and a last one with everything except the cheese.
3. Note that the directions instruct you to create one sauce after the other. If you have enough utensils and pans available, you can make two sauces simultaneously with someone else's help.
4. Follow the instructions below to create your first sauce. This sauce will include all the ingredients. Note that the right amount of butter and cheese is sitting on a plate, ready to be used. Important: Be sure to have an adult help you when you are using the stove.
   1. Melt the butter from one of the plates in a saucepan over low to medium heat.
   2. Blend in one tablespoon of all-purpose flour, stir well and cook for a few minutes until the butter-flour mixture looks smooth and the flour has absorbed the liquid.
   3. Optional: Add black pepper, nutmeg or any other spices you would like.
   4. Slowly stir in one cup of milk. Use your whisk to gently beat out any lumps.
   5. Heat the mixture until it is gently bubbling.
   6. Lower the heat setting and add the cubes of cheese from one of the plates.
   7. Leave on low to medium heat and stir constantly until all the cheese has melted and you have a smooth sauce.
   8. How does this sauce feel as you stir it in the pot? Do you feel any resistance? How does this sauce run as you let it flow from the spoon; does it look nice and thick or rather thin and runny? 
5. Let the sauce cool a little.
6. Optional: If you have a food thermometer, use it to register the temperature of your sauce just before you pour it over the macaroni (see next step). Having all sauces at the same temperature when performing the measurement will yield more exact results.
7. In a moment, you will pour ¾ cup of sauce over the macaroni. Do you think this sauce will pile up on top of the macaroni, or will it slowly or quickly run down and accumulate near the bottom? In this activity, you will measure the time it takes to flow down as an indication of how easily the sauce flows. Important: Be sure to have an adult help you when you are handling the warm saucepan and sauce.
8. Take one tall glass of macaroni, pour 3/4 cup of warm sauce over it and start the timer. Watch the sauce make its way down, and stop the timer as soon as some sauce reaches the bottom of the glass. Maybe the sauce never makes it all the way down, which is fine, too. Were you surprised about how fast or slow this sauce made its way down? Wait! No eating from this macaroni yet! Be patient; at the end of your tests you will be able to taste all your sauces and vote for the best taste.
9. Devour the leftover sauce that is still in the saucepan or save it in a clean container for later. Wash and dry your saucepan, whisk, measuring cup and spoon and get ready to make your second sauce.
10. Follow the instructions to create your second sauce, as described above, with one single change, do not add any flour. After melting the butter, go directly to adding spices and milk. Which differences do you notice while making this sauce? Does this sauce feel differently when you stir it in the pot? Does it run differently as you let it flow from the spoon?
11. While you let your sauce cool down a little, think about what you expect will happen when you pour this sauce over the second glass of macaroni. Do you think this sauce will pile up on top of the macaroni, or slowly or quickly run down and accumulate near the bottom?
12. Optional: If you have a food thermometer, use it to measure the temperature of the sauce and wait until it reaches the same temperature as the sauce in your first test.
13. Measure how this sauce flows by pouring 3/4 cup of sauce over the macaroni in the second glass, and time how long it takes for some sauce to flow all the way down to the bottom of the glass. Did this sauce run faster or slower than the sauce with all ingredients? Note the only difference between the two sauces is that you omitted the one and a half tablespoon of flour in the second sauce. Are you surprised a relatively small amount of flour can have this effect?
14. Save the sauce left in the pan in a clean container for later. Wash and dry your sauce pan, wisk, measuring cup and spoon and get ready to try your last sauce. Note that this sauce will be easier and quicker to make.
15. Follow the instructions to create your initial sauce (including the flour), as described above, with one single change, do not add any cheese. Does this sauce feel differently when you stir it in the pot? Does it run differently as you let it flow from the spoon?
16. Note that you eliminated only one ingredient each time; why do you think you do this?
17. Perform the procedure, as described above, to measure how this sauce runs down the third glass of macaroni. How does the time compare to the previous two measurements?
18. Now that you have all your measurements, can your measurements help you conclude which ingredients help make this sauce thicker, or more viscous?
19. Taste your three versions of macaroni and cheese. Which one is your favorite?

Extra: In this procedure, you did not test what happens when you omit the butter from the recipe. Perform the test to find out.

Extra: This sauce was thickened with cheese as well as a flour-butter mixture (called a roux, pronounced ‘roo,’ in cooking). What do you think would happen if you reduced the amount of cheese and increased the amount of roux? If it is hard to imagine, try it with extremes. What would a sauce taste like if it was only thickened with butter and flour? Can you change the recipe so you get exactly the viscosity and cheesy taste you prefer?

Extra: Look at the ingredients of some of your favorite sauces and find the items that thicken the sauce.