The Scientific Secret to Perfect Nachos

By Kate Horowitz |

Thanksgiving has its turkey. Valentine’s Day, its chocolates. And Super Bowl Sunday has chips, wings, pizza, pretzels, and perhaps most importantly, nachos. If you want the best nachos (and who doesn’t?) the above video from Reactions has got you covered. 

It seems like it would be easy to make great nachos. Get some tortilla chips, sprinkle (or dump) on your favorite ingredients, and melt some cheese over the top. But things tend to go wrong at that last step. Processed cheese sauce often makes chips soggy and can’t quite replicate that real-cheese taste. But melting cheddar or pepper jack never achieves that ooey gooey consistency. You end up with a pot full of charred chunks or oily cheese sludge. Not so delicious.

Fortunately, science has a solution, and if you’re quick, you can have it in hand by game day. Check out the video for the details, and follow the Reactions squad’s scientifically proven nacho cheese recipe below.

Next-Level Nacho Cheese

1. Put a pot on the stove at medium heat.
2. Add one cup of your favorite beer
3. Add two teaspoons of sodium citrate and stir until dissolved.
4. Bring beer to a simmer and slowly add your favorite cheese, preferably a cheddar, and whisk it in there until you've got yourself a smooth, creamy cheese sauce.
5. Take it to the next level with your own special ingredient(s). Hot sauce? Peppers? Onions? Whatever floats your boat.
6. Pour over your nachos, or hey, it works great as a solo dip as well.
7. Become a Super Bowl snack legend.
8. Profit. 

Header image and recipe from YouTube/Reactions.