Kraft Sells One Million Boxes Of Mac And Cheese – A Day!

It’s perhaps the king of comfort foods, the dominant dish of America, and a favorite of all ages all over the country: Macaroni and cheese. Golden and gooey, baked and hearty, this sideline staple or main dish can be served up any number of ways, and on July 14, you’ll have the opportunity to try as many of these as you can on National Mac and Cheese Day, also known as National Macaroni 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.
• 1789 – American President Thomas Jefferson was a huge fan of mac & cheese. He imported Parmesan cheese and macaroni for use in his Virginia estate.
• 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.
• 1903 – James L. Kraft made money selling cheese out of a wagon on the streets of Chicago. He did so well that he was able to form a company called Kraft Foods.
• 1914 –  a game-changing event occurred when the Kraft started making its own cheese
• 1937 – Kraft Macaroni and Cheese hit store shelves in 1937. In 1937 more than 8 million boxes were sold.
• 1943 – During World War II, Kraft Foods again made the best of a bad situation. Wartime rationing made staples such as dairy and fresh meat hard to come by. As 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.    Crayola named one of its crayon colors ‘Macaroni and Cheese.’
• Mac & cheese is considered a national dish in Canada. Plus, a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese is 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.
• 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 was 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 eaten 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 on Allrecipes.com.
• The English word for the venerable pasta we know as “macaroni” comes from the Italian “maccheroni” — but it didn’t start there. The Italians borrowed from the Greek word “makaria,” which translates to “food made with barley.”
• Most 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
•  For some context on just how popular the dish has become, a Google search for “macaroni and cheese recipes” returns over 73 million results.
• Kraft, the undisputed king of the global macaroni and cheese game, now offers 42 of its Macaroni & Cheese products. There are 16 products in the Blue Box line — that’s the traditional kind you boil in water. There are also 16 different kinds of microwaveable cups and 10 Deluxe offerings.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

Tastemade

Crafty Moms Share

Cheapism

Past Pantry

National Today