Cheddar Cheese Powder, 1 lb.

I've been looking for this for 30 years. I boldly assert that this is IDENTICAL, flavor-wise, to the Kraft mac-and-cheese powder. I'm pretty sure I've tried every form of boxed mac-and-cheese and can't begin to count the thousands of boxes that I and my family have gone through so I'm pretty confident in the accuracy of the prior sentence. In our house, whenever we make mac-and-cheese, we use extra packets of cheese, leaving orphaned boxes of uncooked noodles for later use. In the last two weeks, we've burned through three pounds of the Barry Farm cheese and a bunch of boxes of unloved pasta. Here's what I've learned:1. As other reviewers have mentioned, you really can't use this exactly like you would the real Kraft powder. It will clump into little chewy cheese nuggets that don't quite work like the Kraft powder. You should mix the powder with a small amount of water/milk, making a paste, prior to adding it to your cooked pasta. As the cheese powder rehydrates, it will thicken a bit. If you plan to use it later, make it slightly runnier than you'd like. It'll firm up.2. You don't NEED salt, milk, or butter. I prefer adding a bit of butter to the cooked pasta, but it's just fine to add the cheese, alone, to the noodles.3. This is fantastic for leftover mac-and-cheese. Kraft veterans know that leftover Kraft dinner is never quite the same as a fresh pot. The Barry Farm powder, however, completely turns that notion on its head. Add some of the paste to day old mac-and-cheese, reheat, and it's as good as when it was first made.4. This is great for independent children. :) My 6-year-old can take some cooked pasta (stored in a zip-top bag), stir in some of the cheese-paste and reheat it for a quick one bowl snack/meal, very much like EasyMac, only significantly better tasting.5. You'll use more of this to flavor your mac-and-cheese than you would if it were the real Kraft powder. Not a lot more, but it doesn't seem to be a 1:1 conversion.Yesterday, I ordered six more pounds of this stuff and will continue to keep it in our pantry for as long as it's available. If it came in 50-lb sacks, I'd buy that, too. It's a fantastic product and I'm thrilled to have found it.

Once upon a time, I spent two years volunteering in a country without cheese. This is as real as Kraft cheese, and infinitely cheaper than buying little packets. It also stores for a long time without any refrigeration, though be sure to seal it properly, because moisture in the air can cause the powder to clump and solidify over time. If I had a basement or a bomb shelter, this would be in it. This something you can keep around as an alternative to freezer food or ramen for those days when there's nothing in your house. A pound of this is just the thing to send an American abroad, particularly one of limited means.Now, I also wanted to make mac and cheese in the only pot I had, so this is what brought me the best results: cook your macaroni in water, but over salt it significantly. I find that this cheese needs salt to simulate sharpness when using milk to thicken. When the pasta is practically done, drain the water and replace it with enough whole milk to come halfway up the macaroni. Spoon in as much cheese as desired. Stir until the milk comes to a simmer, stopping when the thickness is just slightly more watery than you want. As it cools, it will thicken, though you may notice that half of it is already in your belly.

It is (at this time) being sold by a company that has listed a somewhat 'optimistic' product description regarding it's 'chessiness' and somehow and CONVENIENTLY the product's barcode sticker got slapped over the ingredient list.Fortunately it's very easy to go to the producer of the product (Barry Farm with the not surprising website of barryfarm dot you-know-what). Here you can see the ingredients, the nutritional content PLUS the directions for making a simple sauce.The PRODUCER of the product is clear that it is a whey based powder made with shelf life and stability products, not unlike the bright yellow cheese that most kids are clamoring for on their commercial mac n' cheese.In other words if you are trying to make a mac n' cheese with a familiar tasting cheesy sauce (yes, I'm looking at you Kraft!) but want to use your own noodles, this is a fantastic product. Definitely passed the offspring taste test even with gluten-free corn+quinoa elbow noodles. My kids thought this was great, and as a rare treat I am fine with the ingredients.If you want a yummy popcorn treat, this will work too.If you are looking for maximal healthiness, then do not buy this and make a real cheese sauce. Those are great too :)Most importantly, do not be fooled by any particular vendor, which can change day to day. Examine the description closely (and perhaps double check the manufacturer's own site for details), and check the shipping fees. If it's an Amazon-sold product then super saver/prime shipping apply. If it's a partner-vendor who stores it's inventory in an Amazon warehouse, then the same applies regarding shipping (and can be factored into costs). If it's a partner-vendor who does not do that, well, then you must double check the shipping prices as occasionally there are some 'interesting' shipping fees to be found out there.Also, for a partner-vendor, do your due diligence regarding vendor feedback and decide if that is someone you want to do business with.I happened to have a happy experience with this product. The price was higher than the producer, but given the shipping etc it was all even. No problem for me. The taste was fine for what I was looking for (again, I'm looking at you Kraft!), and the ingredients are fine on an occasional basis for my family. Your family and taste goals may differ of course.My only quibbles are with the vendor and how the product was described/labeled and that will be feedback left for them, not here on the actual product review.My 1 star off IS for the producer, as I think the directions for a sauce should have been on THEIR labeling which IS part of the product.Recommended, but read the descriptions and check the vendor out!JTG