How can I make my cheese sauce creamier?

grill_gus

I made my cheese sauce with pre-shredded cheese (first problem I know), milk and butter. I tried to make a roux but without the flour I think I made it fail. To make the cheese sauce, I put milk and butter in a pot and brought it to a boil. When it frothed, I mixed in the cheese, then stirred it every so often. When I took it off the heat, the cheese was separated, with a milk and butter mix at the top. I strained it over my pasta and it was in...

Originally asked by Lyssa on Stack Exchange (cooking) (CC BY-SA 3.0).

uphilltech

Great question — answering as the UphillTech team:

I know it seems that mac 'n cheese should be a simple thing for a beginner cook to make. It isn't. Without a solid recipe, even experienced cooks can royally screw up mac 'n cheese. Generally it starts with a bechamel, also known as a white sauce. You're right, that starts with a roux which requires flour, or at least some kind of starch. Once you've got a good white sauce, then you add the shredded cheese. You're right again, pre-shredded cheese is not a good idea. Pre-shredded cheese is covered with cellulose so it doesn't clump up in the bag. That doesn't make for smooth melting. Alton Brown's stovetop recipe is about as simple as homemade mac 'n cheese gets. I would recommend mastering...

Full answer by Jolenealaska: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/a/37583 (CC BY-SA 3.0).

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