Macaroni and Cheese: Episode 2 — Boxed Sets

Following close on the heels of yesterday's scrumptious course in how to make real macaroni and cheese comes today's more basic and mundane chapter, for those of us who won't be grating our own cheese anytime soon.

Melissa Clark, a colleague of Julia Moskin at the New York Times and a fine food writer herself, took on the task of comparing and contrasting a wide variety of boxed and frozen preparations (above).

For those of you in a hurry, the best of the lot was Boston Market's frozen version.

The January 4 article, which follows, lists the various brands in order of preference, best first and worst last.

Weighing In on the Boxes for the Fast-Food Set

Nothing is better than homemade macaroni and cheese, but in the rock-paper-scissors world of cooking, sometimes "convenience" trumps "perfection." That is why scores of boxed and frozen preparations of macaroni and cheese line supermarket shelves. Melissa Clark, a cookbook author, regular contributor and a woman willing to eat a lot of mac and cheese, evaluates some of the better-known brands.

• Boston Market Macaroni and Cheese (frozen) Of all the brands, this one was actually good, not just acceptable as a quick and unfussy meal for kids or adults. It had an ultracreamy, silky sauce with a true cheese tang and al dente rotelle pasta that stood up to the microwave. It's better than some of the mac-and-cheeses I've sampled in restaurants around town, no faint praise. I've never had the mac and cheese at Boston Market, but if it tastes anything like this frozen version, I'll soon remedy that.

• Annie's Organic Shells and Real Aged Wisconsin Cheddar A city full of parents can't be wrong, and this is the brand that almost all of the ones I know feed their small children - and themselves, because who can resist a few spoonfuls before Junior gets his bowl? Annie's line of mac and cheese has pretty much replaced Kraft for the organically inclined mom who still needs to please her cheese-loving progeny quickly. And it's darn tasty, with the least chemical tang of all the powder-packet brands, and a mellow flavor that actually tastes like mild cheddar. If I were still in college, this would be the kind I'd go for when the late-night munchies hit, using two flavor packets for one box of shells.

• Whole Foods Brands Three Whole Foods versions - 365, Organic frozen and Whole Kids Organic - were all stalwart contenders with decent flavors and textures. Like the other frozen brands, the frozen Organic noodles were softer and soggier than the ones you cook yourself (if you don't overcook them, that is), but the sauce was creamier, if, in this case, a bit pasty.

The other two, complete with packets of white powder that miraculously turned salmon-colored when sprinkled over the hot buttery pasta, had a lot more flavor. I preferred the Whole Kids, which was less intense than the 365. Both tasted like cheese laced with dehydrated onion powder, reminding me of onion-flavor potato chips - not necessarily a bad thing. But the Whole Kids was less sharply salty and sweet, more balanced overall.

• Stouffer's Macaroni and Cheese (frozen) The thickest and creamiest of the bunch, Stouffer's seemed less like frozen mac and cheese in a box and more like a dish you would prepare for a convalescent who needed something soothing but couldn't stomach anything with strong flavor. The pale tan color of the sauce and browned crusty bits around the edges that got crunchy even in the microwave, fed the illusion that this could be homemade. All in all, not bad.

• Maxaroni Mac and Cheese (frozen) Made by Stouffer's, Maxaroni is meant to appeal to kids, slackers or anyone else who might eat noodles shaped like scooters, sunglasses, inline skates, bikes and skateboards (items that "Max," the goofy, spiky-haired 'tween depicted on the box, thinks are cool). Luckily for those who care more about the shapes than the taste, the noodles don't turn to mush when heated and aren't unpleasant to eat. The sauce, though smooth and shiny, lacks any real flavor.

• Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Even made with real butter instead of the "spread" called for in the directions, Kraft, the mac and cheese of my childhood, disappointed my adult taste buds. The cloyingly sweet neon-hued sauce was offset by a discordant taste of chemicals. But rightly or wrongly, it feeds millions of kids daily, and with the lowest price per serving it was by far was the most economical of the 11 brands I tried.

• Velveeta Shells and Cheese; Moosewood Organic Vegetarian Macaroni and Three Cheeses (frozen) These two brands may seem to be polar opposites but they have one characteristic in common: they were the least appealing of the mac and cheeses I sampled. For as much as I wanted to champion its healthful-sounding, organic ingredients, Moosewood's version came out of the microwave a curdled, mushy mess, with a bland, watery sauce and limp pasta.

Velveeta, with its characteristic pouch of squishy cheese, was like pouring Cheez Whiz or, well, Velveeta, on pasta. But, if you could get past the slightly sour and harsh flavor of the goop, you might be able to enjoy the satiny texture.