French’s Mac and Cheese – product review

What does French’s packet Mac and Cheese taste like?

In the American corner of Tesco stood a display of French’s packets.  When one of these packets is named “mac and cheese” well, I had to get it to try.

There are days when you just need easy to make comfort food and packet mac & cheese such as “Cheesy Pasta” has filled that gap.  So what about this new kid on the block, will it fill that “I’m feeling lazy and I need cheesy carbs”?

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What is in the French’s Mac and Cheese Box

First off, you need to supply the macaroni.  A bit of a fail for a cupboard standby that should be quick to make.

Inside there are three packets.  Mac and cheese sauce, crunchy topping and mustard.

What do you need to add?

You need to add cooked macaroni. grated cheese and milk.

How to make French’s American Mac and Cheese

Pre-heat oven to 200°C, 400°F, Gas mark 6.

Cook the macaroni in boiling water for 2 mins less than stated on packaging, then drain.

Mix Mac ‘n’ Cheese Sauce Mix with milk, half of the cheese and half the French’s Yellow Mustard.

Bring to the boil gently, stirring continuously. Simmer for a couple of mins, until sauce has thickened, then stir in the pasta.

Transfer to an ovenproof dish, combine the remaining cheese with the Crunchy Topping and sprinkle over the pasta.

Cook in oven for 15 mins, or until golden.

Serve with the remaining French’s Yellow Mustard to taste.

What does it taste like?

As expected it had that American cheese taste but with a vinegar mustard tang.  I didn’t add the leftover mustard at the end as it didn’t taste like mac & cheese to me.  The best bit was the crunchy topping, this gave the dish some garlic and herb flavour.

Verdict

At £3.15, I feel I’d have been better off making some mac & cheese from scratch. Portioning it and freezing it for future lazy days!  The mustard was overpowering and that was with only half used.

There also didn’t seem to be much time saved.  Cooking the pasta, making the sauce and then cooking in the oven amounted to about 40 mins of cooking.