- On today's episode, we're gonna test something
that is at the core of all of us.
Mac and cheese.
Now, we're gonna test that using a standard pot
versus something that may seem ridiculous.
This all-in-one mac and cheese maker.
This weird thing could actually be worth it.
We are gonna test uniformity
and dispersement of ingredients and time
versus standard pot.
It's just hard, I don't want to say this,
but if you eat a lot of (bleep) mac and cheese,
maybe that (bleep) matters to you.
Instead of using your burner top,
this is actually using a same heating element
as an electric kettle.
The heat is so fast and it's so instant,
that it actually boils water faster than your stove top.
It has a built-in strainer, a built-in stirrer.
So this, in itself, this unit
is the only thing you do have to wash.
All the ingredients go in this little spout,
boom, boom, boom.
And you stir with the top thing here.
We're gonna use factory recommended three cups of water.
We're gonna set the dial to boil,
and we're gonna put the lid on,
and the time starts now.
And in about 30 seconds in,
there's already bubbles forming on the bottom here.
Please don't make me look like an idiot.
And at three minutes and 55 seconds,
we are at a rolling boil.
Under four minutes, look at that.
Pasta goes in.
That's a little weird to get it in that hole.
Close this little thing,
give it a little stir.
Release the starches, so it doesn't stick together.
Now we're waiting eight to 10 minutes.
Out the gate, mac and cheese maker
is already on to mac and cheese.
We're still waiting for water to boil.
Oh wait, hold on.
Now, as it goes in, what we didn't do,
is you gotta back it down to simmer,
'cause if you leave it on boil,
all the starches create a lot more bubbles,
and so it starts to boil over.
So when you back it down to simmer, watch that.
Now it dissipates.
Seven minutes in, boiling water.
Here we go again.
So, we're running into this thing,
and it does say in the instructions
if you get boil-overs, just keep backing it down,
keep backing it down.
But let's see how that affects cook time.
We're pulling each one after cooking seven minutes.
Towel on the hand would probably be good.
(mellow jazz music)
Let's start with our butter.
Our milk.
Now, here's the test, is how well
it's going to disperse this
beautiful, artisanal,
powdered cheese.
I can't stir while I'm dumping it in,
so that may be an issue,
but let's just see how we're gonna do here.
We have some powder build up around the outside.
Let's give it the benefit of the doubt
and just say you have to scrape that down at least once.
So now, we went back and did it again,
and we do have a pretty consistent mac and cheese.
Let's compare 'em.
Mac and cheese with a machine.
Mac and cheese without a machine.
They're identical.
Let's talk about taste.
Mac and cheese with machine,
tastes like mac and cheese.
I mean, neither one makes a better tasting mac and cheese.
So, what do we have to consider?
First we have to consider price.
Mac and cheese maker is $20.
Mac and cheese maker, three minutes less time
than traditional pot for boiling water.
If you have one of those super-high gas ranges,
could cut that time down.
Let's say you're in college
and you like to have mac and cheese
maybe three times a week.
That three minutes gives you
an extra nine minutes of study time.
Or, recreational activities.
Clean up, we're looking at about the same.
This you kinda clean out with a damp dowel.
The little inside there.
This one, you got a pot and pan
that you could probably do in the dishwasher, and that.
So what is
the verdict here?
This, being an all-in-one,
wasn't kind of a set it and forget it thing.
Remember, you had to kinda keep
tempering it down to a simmer
'cause it kept boiling over.
That's just due to the small capacity.
With a boil-over here, you just use a bigger pot,
you never have to worry about boil-over.
If this didn't have that color scheme,
that kinda lends itself to something very childlike,
had better components,
it doesn't feel like it's gonna last.
And, also, if it simply
wasn't called a mac and cheese maker.
Like, if it said "an all-in-one pasta pot"
then it's kind of like, it makes a lot more sense.
But, since it is a mac and cheese maker,
and those parts, and that color scheme.
Listen, y'all, I'm in my 30s,
I don't know if that two minutes of time
is worth someone seeing that in my house.
This is actually really close,
this was a tough one.
But I'm gonna go...
Standard pot and pan.
Mac and cheese is easy as it is.
(uptempo electronic music)
For more silly things
that could actually be useful, click here.
An egg poacher versus a standard pan.
The promise here is that all your eggs will be perfectly--
(electronic chiming)