Updated February 10, 2024
One of the classic comfort foods earns a place of honor on July 14th. It is National Mac and Cheese Day!
- 13th Century – It is believed that mac and cheese originated in Italy. There was a recipe in an Italian cookbook from the late 13th century.
- 1420s – Medieval chefs were hip to the mac and cheese trend before it was a trend. In the 1420s, King Richard II’s master chefs compiled a manuscript called the Forme of Cury (“Method of Cookery”). The text featured a recipe for a dish called “makerouns,” which is incredibly similar to the mac and cheese we know today — it might just be the earliest recipe for the dish ever published.
- 1802 – Jefferson served a 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.
- 1824 – Thomas Jefferson brought a pasta machine back from Italy and his daughter, Mary Randolph, invented the dish with parmesan cheese which later was changed to cheddar cheese. A recipe appeared in her cookbook called The Virginia Housewife in 1824.
- 1937 – 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.
- 1943 – During World War II, Kraft Foods once again made the best of a bad situation. Wartime rationing made staples such as dairy and fresh meat hard to come by. Like they did during the Depression, Americans turned to Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in droves — the company sold 50 million boxes in 1943 alone
- 1993 – Mac & cheese is not only a delicious dish, but it is an official crayon color as well. In 1993, Crayola named one of its crayon colors ‘Macaroni and Cheese.’
- 2022 – On July 29, 2022, Schreiber Foods in Logan, Utah, set a Guinness World Record for the world’s largest macaroni and cheese dish when they made 4,742 pounds of the stuff to celebrate their 50th year in business. The previous record was set in 2010 by American chef John Folse, along with the Cabot Creamery Co-operative, after making 2,469 pounds of mac and cheese.
- Mac & cheese is considered a national dish in Canada. Plus, a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese is actually the most-purchased grocery product in the country.
- Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Is Considered The Unofficial De Facto Food Of Canada
- The Popular Way To Eat Mac And Cheese In Canada Is With Ketchup.
- Did you know that American President Thomas Jefferson was a huge fan of mac & cheese? He imported Parmesan cheese and macaroni for use in his Virginia estate after trying the dish in both northern Italy and Paris.
- Kraft Macaroni & Cheese was created as a response to the trying times of the great depression, there was a salesman who had an innovative idea. That idea being the sale of both cheese and macaroni together, so he began attaching packages of grated cheese to boxes of pasta. In part due to the conditions of its release, it became an absolute success.
- Kraft Sells One Million Boxes Of Mac And Cheese A Day
- The Record For Eating An Entire Box Of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Is One Minute, 2.14 Seconds
- Around 12% of mac and cheese meals are for breakfast and another 12% are BEFORE breakfast.
- Every 3 months over 1/3 of the US population will consume mac and cheese. In that same window of time, over half of American children will consume mac and cheese.
- 53% of mac and cheese eating occasions involve Millennials whereas only 19% involve Baby Boomers.
- The recommended wine to serve with mac and cheese is Burgundy.
- The most popular shape for mac and cheese other than elbow pasta is *drum roll please* SpongeBob SquarePants..
- “Homemade macaroni and cheese” is the 11th most viewed recipe of all time on Allrecipes.com.
- The biggest mac and cheese lovers in America live in Alabama, South Carolina and Wisconsin.
- Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Is Changing Its Name and Iconic Blue Box introducing … Kraft Mac & Cheese.
- Like chili and sangria, everyone seems to have a recipe for macaroni and cheese, and everyone seems certain that theirs is the undisputed best. For some context on just how popular the dish has become, a Google search for “macaroni and cheese recipes” returns over 73 million results.
- According to Entertainment Weekly, mac and cheese is a favorite go-to comfort food for the most famous woman on the planet. When Oprah Winfrey’s 1998 movie “Beloved” flopped in theaters — even “Bride of Chucky” beat it out by three spots — the daytime talk goddess went into a fit of depression. She copped to going on a binge for the ages by diving into an estimated 30 pounds of mac and cheese and not letting up until it was finished.
Sources:
Live Love Annies
