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There's More to Mac N' Cheese Than You Might Think

 


Instant macaroni and cheese was introduced by Kraft in Chicago during the Great Depression, but anyone who has tried homemade mac n' cheese knows that it is far superior. Let's take a look at the history of this much-loved dish.  

Cheese and pasta were being paired together since as early as 160 BCE in Rome, although the earliest known versions of pasta and cheese were more like a lasagna than the dish we know and love today. Recipes for layered pasta and cheese were found in Italian cookbooks from the 1200s. During this time, macaroni was a generic word for pasta, and macaroni and cheese dishes strangely enough included sugar and cinnamon. However, sugar and cinnamon were used as commonly back then as salt and pepper are used today.

By the mid-1700s, a creamier version of the dish without sugar and cinnamon was being made in France. Because the best English chefs were French, recipes for macaroni and cheese began circulating in cookbooks in England and the American colonies. Thomas Jefferson is credited with popularizing the dish in America after his travels abroad during the years before his presidency, but it was his enslaved chef James Hemings who received culinary training in France and who would have cooked the dish. It is believed that Jefferson even smuggled a pasta machine back from a trip to Naples to allow Hemings to make the dish, which was one of Jefferson's favorites and was thought to be suitable to impress his guests.*

During the 1800s,"macaroni" came to mean dried tubular-shaped pasta. In the South, mac and cheese became a weekend or celebration food. Recipes for macaroni and cheese were common in American cookbooks written by white women, but it was enslaved Black women who worked in the kitchens to perfect the recipes. During this time, chefs and nutritionists alike praised the dish for being economical and wholesome.  

In 1937, toward the end of the Great Depression, cheesemaker James L. Kraft--who was already successful at selling processed cheese to the American government during WWI--introduced instant macaroni and cheese and marketed it from his company's headquarters in Chicago. Because it was budget-friendly at 19 cents a box, easy to make, and high in protein, instant mac n' cheese sold like wildfire. Boxed mac n' cheese soon became a popular staple of everyday meals, while the made-from-scratch version was saved for large gatherings and special occasions, especially in the South.  

I first tried real mac n' cheese at a soul food restaurant on State Street that is sadly no longer in operation. Wanting to replicate the dish at home, I searched through my mother's recipe books and found this recipe in a church cookbook. It has since become my go-to for family gatherings. 


Macaroni and Cheese Casserole

           Makes enough to fill a 9-by-13-in. (3 qt.) casserole dish

Ingredients:

1 lb. macaroni

1/2 c. margarine

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. warm milk (non-dairy milk also works)

1/2 lb. grated cheddar cheese--set aside 1/2 c.

bread crumbs (optional)

Note: A gluten-free version of the dish can be made by using gluten-free macaroni and gluten-free flour. 

Instructions:

Cook macaroni, drain, and set aside. Preheat oven to 425 F. In saucepan, melt margarine, blend in flour, and add milk gradually, stirring constantly. Cook until thick and smooth. Add the cheese, holding aside the 1/2 cup. Cook until cheese is melted. Add more milk if needed. Combine sauce with the macaroni in the casserole dish and sprinkle the extra cheese on top. Bake for 30 minutes, until the top is brown. If desired, sprinkle bread crumbs on top about 5 minutes before the bake time is up. 

*James Hemings was granted freedom from slavery in 1796. When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, it is believed that he asked Hemings to be the White House chef, but Hemings died of alcohol poisoning before he could accept (or reject) the role. 

Sources:

Karima Moyer-Nocchi and Adrian Miller, "Who Invented Mac and Cheese? This American Favorite Has Ancient Roman Roots," Epicurious (September 26, 2022).

Gordon Edgar, "A Brief History of America's Appetite for Macaroni and Cheese," Smithsonian (May 29, 2018).

"Say Cheese!" Chicago History Museum (July 14, 2020).





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