- Wow, my stomach's gonna hate me later,
but I don't care.
I do what I want, OK?
(upbeat music)
- Hi, guys, my name is Matt.
I am a Tasty Junior producer here
in Los Angeles, California,
and today I'm going to
be comparing the homemade
and store-bought versions
of one of my favorite foods,
macaroni and cheese.
So I'm just gonna go prep my station,
and then we can get down to business.
(jazz music)
Box mac and cheese is arguably
one of the easiest things to make.
Start to finish,
it takes no more than 15 minutes.
On the plus side,
you only need two extra ingredients,
milk and butter.
On the down side,
I honestly can't tell you
what kind of cheese this is.
The box says it's original flavored.
I have no idea what that means.
I tried Googling it and found nothing,
but it's cheap, it's easy,
it's delicious,
it's mac and cheese.
- Ah.
Actually haven't had it in a while.
Just as good as I remembered.
- It's better when you eat it like this,
when you put it on the fork,
and ah.
- It tastes like I thought it would,
which is to say
like not much.
- It's nostalgic, it brings you back.
It's honestly pretty good.
(jazz music)
- [Matt] This one-pot recipe
was developed by Matthew,
another one of our
producers here at Tasty.
Like the box mac and cheese,
it's super straight-forward,
and you can make it all in one pot.
Because you cook it in milk,
you don't need to strain the macaroni,
making everything creamier.
By using real cheese, you
get that gooey texture,
and authentic flavor.
If you don't wanna use cheddar,
go ahead and substitute
it with an equal amount
of whatever cheese you'd like.
(jazz music)
And that's it.
You had a homemade version
of boxed mac and cheese.
- Definitely tastes like cheese.
And like the other one,
this is kind of like milk and noodle.
- Definitely has a creamier
consistency.
- It's actually nice tasting,
it's side-by-side Kraft,
you can really tell
that the cheddar like
elevates the cheesy flavor,
the real cheddar. (laughs)
- [Matt] For this last mac and cheese,
I wanted to do a real show-stopper,
so we're going with a six cheese.
To ensure things would be rich and creamy,
I still it with a Bechamel,
which is just a thick, milky white sauce
that you see in a lot of classic recipes.
It'll get a little clumpy at first,
that is fine.
It'll get smoother and creamier
as you keep adding more.
Feel free to play around with what kind
and how many spices you'd like.
I went for smokey with
just a hint of spiciness.
(upbeat music)
I chose to use six cheeses
for a blend of Sharps,
smokey and cream flavors.
You don't need to add six cheeses,
but why not?
You get a more complex mix of flavors.
Just make sure you use three cups total.
Be aware, a lot of these cheeses
did not come pre-shredded,
so I had to do it by hand,
which was a lot more work.
(upbeat music)
To make this recipe really decadent,
add a nice topping of
cheese and bread crumbs,
and broil that.
It'll give another layer
of texture and flavor
that you don't get in
the first two recipes.
While it takes twice the amount of time,
more ingredients (laughs)
and much more effort,
this mac and cheese will
really bring the house down.
- Oh, wow.
This is amazing.
- There's definitely like
a lot more complexity.
- Oh and there's a kick.
- It's super cheesy,
it's got like this little
browned bread crumby bits,
it's like a little salty in the best way.
(stammers) this is amazing.
(upbeat music)
- My favorite, definitely
is the fancy mac and cheese.
(bell dings)
- I am (laughs) going to have to go
with Kraft Mac and Cheese.
(bell dings)
- I mean, without a doubt,
the fancy, gourmet
(bell dings)
mac and cheese is my pick.
- I'm gonna have to go
with the final one.
(bell dings)
- I think
I'm gonna got to go with
number two. (bell dings)
- I can't say I'm too surprised
with the mac and cheeses
people picked.
While the show stopper took
the most time and effort,
it amazed everyone that ate it.
Plus, it's the most versatile.
There are countless ways for
you to customize the flavors
and textures to make it your own.
That being said,
some people really liked
the box mac and cheese.
If you want something
quick, cheap and nostalgic,
go for it.
If you want the simplicity and efficiency
of the box mac and cheese,
but with more flavor and flexibility,
the one pot is your version.
At the end of the day,
mac and cheese is great,
and you really can't go
wrong with any recipe.
And I've had it like 10 times this week,
but I haven't eaten all day.
And I'm hungry.
(upbeat music)
