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submitted 3 days ago by a4ng3l@lemmy.world to c/cooking@lemmy.world

I’m not sure I’m so much a fan of this. Maybe the recipe isn’t the best there is but it felt not that creamy and lacked acidity despite my attempts to adapt with some more apple cider vinegar.

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[-] Cris_Citrus@piefed.zip 14 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Its only greasy if your emulsion breaks, which adding lots of acid will do. There should be no grease, only smooth sauce. But yes, some foods are generally richer and heavy. Carbonara is even more rich and while some people might add a small squeeze of lemon juice it generally isnt made with acid- the black pepper is what contrasts with the richness

If you want more acid I'd recommend adding things on top: some hotsauce or acidic BBQ sauce, some pickled red onions and chorizo (the Mexican kind, no casing), pulled pork bbq with a NC vinegar bbq sauce (vinegar BBQ sauce is the regional variant where I'm from in north Carolina for pulled pork), carnitas, or pico de gallon, or serve with sides or an acidic beverage

But trying to put an acid like vinegar into the sauce directly will break your sauce and you'll get a weird greasy texture, while also tasting wrong. If your cheese tastes too heavy try using sharp cheddar or another sharper more acidic cheese (here in the us cheddar would be the classic choice for Mac and cheese anyway, its flavor works well as the primary flavor in Mac and cheese), and some people use a little bit of dijon mustard because it can compliment the flavor of the cheese and has emulcifiers in it that can help stabilize your sauce. Don't put a ton though, its not supposed to be an acidic food, just a little, like roughly a teaspoon for a large serving at max. You shouldn't be able to distinctly taste any mustard, that would be weird

For anyone who finds the mustard weird take it up with Alton brown

If you have any questions on making Mac and cheese feel free to ask, I'm happy to help :) I used to regularly make it from scratch

[-] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Pico de gallon?

ROFL epic autocorrect fail.

[-] elephantium@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Hey, maybe they just want to eat a lot of it.

[-] a4ng3l@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

It was not greasy in the sense of separation of components / emulsion failing at all. Maybe I don't have the correct wording for this. It had texture but lacked tasted maybe? Just too cheesy not in a good way? Maybe I should try balancing the plate with an acidic side as you recomment. On top of the 100000 tweaks I got on cheese & ratio from the 100 of offended passionate americans I hurt with this attempt xD

[-] Whirling_Ashandarei@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

Ok this is a trustworthy source, got a favorite recipe you care to share? I haven't considered adding mustard but it makes sense.

[-] Cris_Citrus@piefed.zip 3 points 2 days ago

Sadly I don't have a recipe, I would just wing it every time 😅 which probably wasnt smart cause I always struggled to make the right ratio of cheese sauce and noodles together

Usually when I'm learning how to make something I look up and read a bunch of seperate recipes and look for the common elements and variations, and then I decide how I wanna make mine, but I don't remember any recipes I've used. If I were to go looking for one I'd probably see if chef john has one, as his recipes are usually fairly classic and to the point, which is usually what I want as a starting place for making something my own

[-] JohnAnthony@lemmy.dbzer0.com -3 points 2 days ago

I'm afraid of asking your recipe for carbonara if you compare it to baking your pasta in a comparable mass of cheese and cream

[-] Cris_Citrus@piefed.zip 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I don't usually make baked Mac and cheese, I make stovetop with a mornay sauce, and the only comparison I'm making to carbonara is that its a dish that is intentionally rich and fatty from another cuisine op may be more familiar with or see as more tasteful than classic american food.

My carbonara is pasta, pasta water, salt, fresh black pepper, fatty pork, rendered pork fat, eggs (extra or only yolk), and parmesan.

No cream, I'm making carbonara, not Alfredo.

this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2026
135 points (97.2% liked)

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