Macaroni and cheese is an important part of American culture. It’s a comfort food favorite among children, college students, and choosy eaters everywhere. Macaroni and cheese is filling, delicious, and it’s unbelievably easy to fix.
It is believed that macaroni and
cheese originated in Italy. There was a recipe in an Italian cookbook from the
late 13th century.
The anonymous Liber de coquina,
written in Latin by someone familiar with the Neapolitan court then under the
sphere of Charles II of Anjou (1248-1309) has a recipe called de lasanis which we can call the
first macaroni and cheese recipe. It was
macaroni. In this case, lasagna sheets made from fermented dough and cut into
two-inch squares that were cooked in water and tossed with grated with Parmesan
cheese.
The American macaroni
and cheese has two main lines of ancestry. It is thought that macaroni and
cheese was a casserole that had its beginnings at a New England church supper.
In southeastern Connecticut, it was known long ago as macaroni pudding. It is
said that the classic American macaroni and cheese returned with Thomas
Jefferson to Virginia after his sojourn in Italy.
Jefferson had brought
back a pasta machine from Italy. His daughter Mary Randolph became the hostess
of his house after Jefferson’s wife died, and she is credited with inventing
the dish using macaroni and Parmesan cheese. A recipe appeared in her
cookbook called The Virginia Housewife in 1824.The Parmesan was eventually
replaced with cheddar cheese. You might be surprised to find out there’s a lot
you don’t know about this popular food:
·
In
1993, Crayola named one of their crayon colors “macaroni and cheese.”
·
In
any given twelve-week period, approximately one-third of the population of the
United States will eat macaroni and cheese at least once. About half of all
children in the United States will eat macaroni and cheese during this time
period.
·
Jefferson
served macaroni pie at a state dinner in 1802. This dinner was cooked with a recipe by James Hemings, one of Jefferson’s slaves (and brother
to Sally Hemings, the slave with whom Jefferson had children) and cooked by
Robert Hemings (another brother). James Hemings was freed in 1796 and died at
the young age of 36. He is credited for introducing ice cream, French fries,
macaroni and cheese, and whipped cream to America for the first time.
·
Kraft
Macaroni and Cheese experienced a ten percent growth in sales in 2007. The Easy
Mac macaroni and cheese cups grew fifty percent in sales this same year.
·
Kraft
Macaroni and Cheese hit the store shelves in 1937. In 1937 more than 8 million
boxes were sold. It was said to be the housewife’s best friend. Today Kraft
sells 1 million boxes a day.
·
Macaroni
and cheese has remained on the list America’s top ten comfort foods for
decades.
·
Macaroni
and cheese is consistently on the list of top ten favorite food choices for
children.
·
Macaroni
and cheese is the number one cheese recipe in the United States.
·
The
average canned macaroni and cheese is a source of sixteen percent of the daily
recommended protein for an adult. It is also a good source of copper, manganese
and selenium.
·
The
first box recipe appeared in 1802 and was for macaroni and cheese. The recipe
was actually printed on the sheet of paper found in the box surrounding the
pasta.
·
The
first modern macaroni and cheese recipe however appeared in an English
cookbook in 1770. The cookbook was The Experienced English Housekeeper
by Elizabeth Raffald. She used cheddar cheese in the recipe.
·
The
most popular cheese used in macaroni and cheese recipes is Cheddar cheese.
·
The
recommended wine to serve with macaroni and cheese is Burgundy wine.
·
Two
restaurants in New York City, S’MAC and Supermac, serve only macaroni and cheese. Both restaurants offer
classic macaroni and cheese as well as gourmet varieties of the dish.
·
In Canada Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
is called Kraft Dinner and is a favorite meal. Canadians purchase 12% off all
the Kraft Mac and Cheese sold and eat it 55% more than Americans do. And
apparently they began eating it with ketchup in the 1990s and still do today.
·
Apparently the story of Kraft
Macaroni and Cheese is that a salesman saw a box of macaroni and grated cheese
attached with a rubber band and had an aha moment and brought the idea back to
Kraft.
·
During WWII families could get 2
boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for 1 food rationing stamp.
·
Macaroni and cheese is the number
one cheese recipe in the United States. And it has remained on the list of top
comfort foods for Americans for decades.
·
Around 12% of macaroni and cheese
meals are eaten for breakfast and another 12% are eaten before breakfast.
·
The largest pot of macaroni and
cheese weighed 2,469 pounds.
·
53% of macaroni and cheese eating
occasions involve Millennials whereas only 19% involve Baby Boomers.
·
About 30% of macaroni and cheese
eating occasions involve eating with family and another 12% involve eating with
friends.
·
“Homemade macaroni and cheese” is the 11th most viewed recipe of all time on
Allrecipes.com.
·
The biggest macaroni and cheese
lovers in America live in Alabama, South Carolina and Wisconsin.
“I am not one to turn down macaroni and cheese even late at night. I
love Italian food. I love pasta, [but] a
refrigerator full of water and Gatorade? Honey, that's just not gonna happen.”
(Queen Latifah)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“10 Things You Didn’t Know About Macaroni and
Cheese” by Rachael Pack
·
“15 Fun Facts about Macaroni and Cheese” by mymacaroniandcheese.info
·
“Fun Facts about
Macaroni and Cheese & Crafty Weekends Link Party” by Crafty Moms Share
·
“Origin of
Macaroni and Cheese” by Clifford A. Wright
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