THE HISTORY OF MACARONI AND CHEESE

Although the old adage goes “it’s as American as hot dogs and apple pie”, I don’t think there is any food that is as beloved in this country as macaroni and cheese. But how did that happen?

America’s obsession with mac ‘n cheese goes all the way back to Thomas Jefferson. Upon sampling the dish in Paris, he became so obsessed with the it that he toured factories and restaurants to learn how it was made. But when he couldn’t re-create the meal, he did the next best thing: he ordered take-out. According to historians, Jefferson had fresh pasta and Parmesan shipped to his house in Monticello all the way from Marseilles.

The Kraft version of mac ‘n cheese began in 1916 when J.L. Kraft obtained the patent for a powdered cheese that wouldn’t spoil, but what he discovered was that it wouldn’t sell either. Desperate, Kraft hawked 6 million pounds of the stuff to the U.S. Army at a steep discount. The powdered cheese didn’t find its footing until World War II, when Kraft incorporated it into a new, affordable meal: instant Macaroni and Cheese.