> I am not sure how you make macaroni and cheese that it only takes 20 minutes. Just getting the water boiling, adding the macaroni, cooking it, and draining it is going to take at least 15.
While the noodles are draining you take some of the noodle water, some milk, and some cheese and mix it together in the still warm pot over the lowest heat setting on your stove top?
But seriously what were you doing those 15 minutes? You could have your cheese sauce ready to go and put the noodles almost directly into it.
I think to answer the op's question, the reason boxed mac & cheese is so popular is two part. American's don't have the time or energy to prepare a meal, and they don't know how to.
Making a single dish is easy, making multiple dishes for a meal is tricky when you're not familiar with the kitchen. Americans don't cook anymore.
> But seriously what were you doing those 15 minutes? You could have your cheese sauce ready to go and put the noodles almost directly into it
One thing this thread has taught me is that what I would consider mac & cheese, which involves baking the cooked macaroni with cheese and roux, is not what other people are doing.
I now see why 20 minutes for prep can work, though I’m not sure I would be much more interested in eating that.
Baked macaroni and cheese is sacrilegious, in my opinion - it's in it's most perfect form already, baking only makes it worse. People tell me that baked macaroni and cheese done right isn't bland and dry, but ever one I've ever eaten has been - even from people who think they make "the best macaroni and cheese"
I guess people have different tastes.
That being said, a lot of restaurants will cover the macaroni and cheese in breadcrumbs and place it under the broiler for couple minutes, that is great and nothing at all like baked macaroni and cheese, it creates a nice crust and still preserves the creamy, tasty qualities of the product.
> American's don't have the time or energy to prepare a meal, and they don't know how to.
As someone who occasionally ate mac 'n cheese and top ramen in college, I think it partly comes down to what tools and ingredients are available to you. I did not have access to a stove/pots/pans/colander. I had access to a shared microwave that was in the lounge in my dorm. So making my own mac 'n cheese was not possible (never mind the fact that we didn't have ready access to ingredients, and that cheese would go bad or be stolen from the fridge).
As an adult, I enjoy making mac 'n cheese for my kids, using a yogurt-based recipe and incorporating riced cauliflower to make it somewhat less unhealthy. But college-student-me didn't have access to the ingredients/tools to make that possible.
At university in London, we had a good kitchen with two stoves, two ovens, a lockable part of a huge fridge each, a lockable cupboard each, and a cleaner every day. (She would not clean up dirty dishes, but would do normal cleaning.)
I had a colander and a grater, which people probably borrowed. We bought a couple of utensils throughout the year, like a large roasting tin for Christmas Dinner. I bought scales for baking. The university gave international students a pan and other basic stuff.
There was a fancy supermarket nearby (though they had the cheapest spirits), a normal one about 15 minutes walk away, and a cheaper one 10 minutes beyond that. I usually went to the normal one.
Cooking together was great. Sharing that kitchen were people from England, Wales, Hong Kong, Jamaica, China, Italy. Friends who came by added Japan, Germany, France, Thailand.
The Welsh guy and his boyfriend were most organised, and about once a month got everyone who wanted to to help cook (or at least clean) for ~10-15. Normally, ~4 of us cooked in alternating pairs for the other 2.
Macaroni cheese would have been a bit disappointing for the lack of vegetables.
If I only had a few minutes and was eating myself, I'd prefer to use those 2 minute ramen things.
All of this seems fairly normal to me. The large group meals were only possible in 1st year with the large kitchen, but everything else continued in later years, renting houses or apartments.
> American's don't have the time or energy to prepare a meal, and they don't know how to.
Speak for yourself (or maybe there's data on this that you can cite). I personally very much enjoy cooking and prepare nearly all of my meals from scratch. I've seen friends I never would have imagined cooking pick it up as a hobby they enjoy during the pandemic. There are actually a few countries where eating out is more common: Spain and Canada, according to this data [1].
While the noodles are draining you take some of the noodle water, some milk, and some cheese and mix it together in the still warm pot over the lowest heat setting on your stove top?
But seriously what were you doing those 15 minutes? You could have your cheese sauce ready to go and put the noodles almost directly into it.
I think to answer the op's question, the reason boxed mac & cheese is so popular is two part. American's don't have the time or energy to prepare a meal, and they don't know how to.
Making a single dish is easy, making multiple dishes for a meal is tricky when you're not familiar with the kitchen. Americans don't cook anymore.