• In order to prevent soggy, overcooked macaroni (since several sat in their respective cheese sauces for 30–40 minutes), I purposely undercooked the noodles. Most brands’ noodles were just shy of al dente after five minutes, and I gotta say, all the macaroni I tasted was cooked to perfection.
• For any varieties that soaked up too much sauce while they sat, my partner quickly re-heated them with a splash of milk until they reached a uniformly saucy consistency. This way, none of the varieties I tasted were overly wet or dry, and the ratio of noodles to sauce for each felt completely consistent.
• Other than slightly undercooking the macaroni, I followed the directions on the boxes to a T — most varieties require a 1/4 cup of 2% milk and 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter. In other circumstances, I probably would’ve opted for whole milk, but for this experiment, I didn’t break any “rules.”
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