The Effects of Cornstarch in

Mac n Cheese Sauce

A Scientific Paper by Dana Stahl and Serena Bennett
Chemistry 11, Animas High School

Abstract
In this investigation, we explored Mac n Cheese sauce in order to determine the
qualities of its thickness. We investigated how cornstarch acts as a thickener in cheese sauce in
order to make the ideal Mac n Cheese, which should be thick instead of runny, cheesy instead
of bland, and orange rather than pale. We completed an experiment where we controlled the
amount of thickener in our mac n cheese sauce and then measured its speed by using a
consistometer. We also conducted taste tests in which thickness, color, and taste were
measured. We discovered that the thickness of the cheese sauce was indeed directly affected
by the amount of cornstarch added, but that the effects were only somewhat detected during the
taste tests. The color, taste, and thickness according to qualitative data were not affected as
much as expected. However, this may have been because too little cornstarch was used to
have enough of an impact. Cornstarch does indeed increase the thickness of cheese sauce,
which means that it can be used to make mac n cheese even better by making the sauce thick
and still tasty.
the sauce. The ideal cheesy sauce should
be gooey and tasty, without being runny as

Introduction
Mac n Cheese is a well-known

many sauces tend to be.

comfort food that everyone loves. This

Therefore, one of the best ways to

delicious dish that the Kraft Company

thicken the sauce is to add cornstarch.

packaged in a box in 1937, has evolved into

Cornstarch acts as a thickener in foods.

one of the most popular American plates

Cornstarch, or rather all starches, work well

that we have all grown up with. But where

as thickeners in food because the starch

did this delicacy originate? As you probably

granules expand and get larger as they

already know, it does come from Italy, but

absorb water. This means that the amount

there

New

of volume that is occupied by the starch

England as well. But what is it that makes it

molecules increases as well as the viscosity

are

sources

coming

from

so scrumptious?
Many

would

of the liquid.
Viscosity is the resistance of a

the

substance to flow. The less it flows, the

real secret lies in

higher the viscosity. For fluid to flow and to

argue

that

have a high viscosity, molecules have to

was achieved by measuring the total

move over one another. Much of this

distance traveled over a set amount of time,

depends on their size, as small molecules

30 seconds, for five different formulas of

move faster than large ones. Large ones,

cheese sauce, each containing adjusted

like those of cornstarch, move slowly over

amounts of cornstarch.

one another and therefore have a higher

viscosity. One indicator of a higher or lower

For the materials used to make our

viscosity is to measure how long a fluid

consistometer, we used a plastic pipe, a

travels in a certain amount of time. The

box, and a ruler. As we

higher the viscosity, the less distance is

started

traveled in a higher amount of time. If,

consistometer, we knew

however, the fluid travels at a fast pace and

we needed a chute for

covers more distance in a shorter amount of

the

time, then it has a low viscosity.

down, so we used a

building

sauce

travel

cut

in

half

using a consistometer. A consistometer is

lengthwise

and

used

an instrument that measures the distance

that propped up on a

covered by a fluid during a set amount of

box. We then used the

time. It is meant to measure the consistency

ruler

of a substance, and is made of a simple

centimeters on the side of the chute so that

inclined trough that

has measurement

we could measure how far the sauce

markings, a small compartment to fill with

flowed. We used the consistometer to

the fluid being measured, and a separating

measure the speed at which the sauce

gate that can be opened to let the fluid out.

traveled and therefore the viscosity by

One way to measure viscosity is by

pipe

to

our

to

mark

out

finding the time it took for the sauce to flow

Methodology
This experiment was done in order
to compare the thickness of cheese sauce
with different amounts of cornstarch in it.
We compared this by finding the time it took
for each cheese sauce to reach a certain
distance by using a consistometer and also
by conducting a qualitative taste test in
which flavor and thickness were rated. This

30 centimeters. Although a consistometer

doesnt

direction

measure

viscosity,

it

enables us to tell which sauces have the

most viscosity and rank them from least to
most viscous.
In

Test

1,

we

didnt

put

any

cornstarch into the cheese sauce. In Test 2,

we put tablespoon of cornstarch into the

sauce, in Test 3 we put tablespoons, and

with the most cornstarch would be the

in Test 4 we put tablespoons of

thickest but not the one with the most flavor

cornstarch. To make the cheese sauce, we

or color because the more cornstarch is

used simple Kraft mac and cheese sauce

added, the more the taste and color is

that comes in the packets of powder. For

affected.

the quantitative part of the lab, we used a

consistometer to measure distance traveled
by the cheese sauce for a specific amount
of time. We tested each of these sauces by
pouring one tablespoon of sauce
into the top of the

Amount of

Distance

consistometer and

Cornstarch

covered

simultaneously

(tablespoons)

(cm)

30

starting the timer.

As soon as the
sauce flowed past
30
we

centimeters,
stopped

the

timer

and

recorded

our

Test 1

Time (sec)

Speed of Sauce
(cm/sec)

58 sec

0.52 cm/sec

(Sauce D)
Test 2

Data Table. A

30

220 sec

0.13 cm/sec

30

257 sec

0.12 cm/sec

30

322 sec

0.09 cm/sec

(Sauce A)
Test 3

table of the
quantitative

(Sauce B)
Test 4

Results

data gathered
in the lab.

(Sauce C)

values. We reset the timer and cleaned the

consistometer between each test.
For the qualitative part of the lab, we
conducted a blind taste test using all four
different cheese sauces. We randomly
labeled the sauces A through D and had
people taste each one and rate it on a scale
of 1 to 10 on thickness, flavor, and color. We
also had them choose which sauce they
thought was the thickest, which one had the
most flavor, and which one had the most
orange color. It was expected that the sauce

Speed of Sauce Sample Calculation: 30

cm/220 sec = 0.13 cm/sec

Graph. A bar graph of the average

Chart 2. A pie chart showing the sauce with

thickness, taste, and color of different

the cheesiest taste according to qualitative

sauces on a scale of 1 to 10 from qualitative

data.

data.

Chart 3. A pie chart showing the sauce with

the most orange color according to
Chart 1. A pie chart showing the thickest

qualitative data

sauce according to qualitative data.

The results of our quantitative experiment

were that the mac and cheese sauce flowed
much slower when cornstarch was added to
it. In test 1, the cornstarch had a speed of
0.52 cm/sec, as seen in the Data Table. In
test 2, the speed of the sauce decreased to
0.13 cm/sec. In test 3, it decreased by a

much smaller amount to 0.12 and then in

correlation between cornstarch and color,

test 4 to 0.09. The difference between the

and somewhat of a correlation between.

last several tests were much smaller in

There was a stronger correlation between

comparison to the difference between the

cornstarch and thickness. Sauce C, which

the first and second test.

had the most amount of cornstarch added,

was the thickest according to qualitative

The results from the qualitative taste

data,

which

went

along

with

our

tests, as shown in charts 1 through 3, were

expectations. However, Sauce B was rated

that sauce C (Test 4, with tablespoons of

to have the highest color and taste when I

cornstarch) was the thickest and Sauce B

would have expected it to be Sauce A

(Test 3, with tablespoons of cornstarch)

because it has no cornstarch added. The

was the cheesiest and had the most orange

cornstarch made a difference, but it made

color. As seen in the Graph, on a scale of 1

such a small difference that it wasnt as

to 10 people rated Sauce B ( tablespoon

noticeable when eaten. In the future, an

cornstarch) with the highest average taste

improvement to this experiment would be

and color, and rated sauce C ( tablespoon

using more cornstarch overall so that the

cornstarch)

changes

with

the

highest

average

thickness. The average taste increased

within

the

sauce

are

more

significant and obvious.

from test 1-3, but at test 4 it decreased

while the color showed no overall trend. The

These uncertainties may have been

thickness increased from test 2-4, but was

caused by errors in how the tests were

higher than test 2 in cornstarch in taste.

conducted. Between tests we cleaned the

consistometer and by doing so removed it

Discussion

from

its

previous

position.

When

we

repositioned it, it may have been at a

The results of our lab showed that

different angle and therefore affected the

the cornstarch made the cheese sauce

results. Also, the presence of water after

thicker but did not make a very clear

washing the consistometer may have made

connection to thickness, taste, and color in

the sauce flow differently. During the taste

the qualitative aspect of the sauce. The

tests, its possible that there were errors

speed of the sauce decreased greatly

because when we reheated the cheese

between the first two tests but by smaller

sauce for tasting, some heated more than

increments in all other tests. For the

others which could have affected their

qualitative tests, there seemed to be no

thickness and taste. Others werent stirred

properly before tasting and thickened only

at the top where samples were taken from.