How To Recreate Wendy's Cheesy Baked Potatoes At Home Using Common Ingredients - Tasting Table

"While there are some easily recognizable ingredients, such as cheddar cheese, butter, and canola oil, there are also a few uncommon components, including: sodium citrate, whey protein concentrate, tomato concentrate, xanthan gum, Konjac, annatto (color), citric acid, onion juice concentrate, oleoresin paprika (paprika extract, sunflower oil), and soy lecithin. While they might seem intimidating, once you strip these ingredients down to what they do, it's pretty easy to make in your own kitchen."

"To keep costs down, recipes and ingredients are intended to be whipped up in bulk, frozen, reheated, and assembled quickly and easily, which also means they must be as shelf-stable as possible. In the case of shredded cheese or milk, proper refrigeration is all that's required, but once you've melted and emulsified that cheese, you need something to stabilize it; otherwise, it can quickly turn into a gloppy mess."

Cravings for fast-food flavors can be satisfied with copycat recipes that recreate signature items at home. A Wendy's-style doubly cheesy baked potato can be made using common ingredients like cheese, milk, corn starch, and potatoes plus a few additional touches to mimic texture and melt. The official sauce blends familiar items such as cheddar, butter, and canola oil with additives like sodium citrate, whey protein concentrate, xanthan gum, and annatto to act as emulsifiers, stabilizers, and colorants. Fast-food production emphasizes speed, low cost, bulk prep, freezing, reheating, and shelf-stability, so stabilizers prevent melted cheese from separating into a gloppy mess.

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