Don't tell the kids, but macaroni and cheese didn't always come from a blue and yellow box.

With lineage that can be traced to 13th century Italy, and later the English settlers who brought it to the colonies, baked pasta tossed with a melted cheese has been an American favorite since long before Kraft co-opted the dish.

Even Thomas Jefferson was a fan, bringing a macaroni mold from Paris so the dish could be served at the White House in 1802.

Today, macaroni and cheese generally takes one of two forms -- pasta tossed with either a smooth cream and cheese sauce (the Kraft style, technically known as mornay sauce) or with a more custardlike blend of egg yolks, milk and cheese.

Ready to make a true classic mac and cheese? Here's what you need to know:

The pasta: Technically, any pasta will work. But for it to work well, a pasta needs crevices in which to trap the cheese sauce.

Elbow macaroni and shells work well, but testing gave the edge to elbows, which hold their shape better under the heavy sauce. Even better are oversized elbows, which combine the best attributes of both.

Salted water -- and lots of it -- are essential for the best flavor and texture. For a pound of pasta (enough to feed six people), you'll need 2 tablespoons of salt and 6 quarts of water.

The test cooks at Cook's Illustrated magazine found it essential to cook the pasta until tender, or just past al dente. This produces more starch and makes the pasta more absorbent, allowing the sauce to better adhere to the pasta.

Sprinkle the pasta with a bit of olive oil once it is drained. This prevents the pasta from sticking together.

The cheese: A blend of Monterey jack and sharp Cheddar spiked with some assertive Parmesan produces a creamy macaroni and cheese with a sharp flavor with just a hint of pungency. If you wanted a spicier version, you could substitute pepper jack for the Cheddar.

To ensure the cheese melts evenly, all varieties should be thoroughly grated.

The sauce: For a creamy macaroni and cheese, the sauce is key. It acts as the base of the dish, giving smooth body to the cheese (which is melted into the sauce), preventing it from melting into unappealing lumps.

The sauce starts as a simple roux, a blend of equal parts butter and all-purpose flour that is gently heated until thickened. Adding warmed milk (cool will create clumps) and cheese to this thickened blend transforms it into a creamy mornay sauce.

For best results, stick with whole milk. Likewise, any butter will work, but unsalted butters give you the most control over the taste of the finished product.

Age isn't kind to mornay sauces. For this reason, it's best to prepare the pasta first, set it aside, then make the sauce. The sauce requires short, but focused, hands-on time, so multitasking isn't recommended.

The baking: Once you've tossed your pasta with the cheese sauce, you could dig in. However, there is serious payoff to transferring it to a baking dish, sprinkling it with bread crumbs and letting it do time in the oven first.

A ¼- inch layer of buttered coarse bread crumbs, such as panko, is ideal. To help them brown and keep them from getting too dry, the bread crumbs are tossed with melted butter and a bit of cheese before being added to the dish.