Most of us can look back on our childhoods and recall eating bowls full of the iconic
blue-box mac and cheese.
Depending on who you ask, it's still the epitome of comfort food in adulthood.
And the craving?
It's real.
There's just something about that bright yellow cheese sauce that soothes the soul, but did
you know it's not the same as the stuff you used to love?
Does that make a difference?
Probably not, but it's still pretty fascinating to learn all sorts of trivia about this childhood
favorite.
It might even make you love it more… if that's even possible.
Depression-era affordability
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese has been around since 1937, and that processed cheese was a game-changer
during the Great Depression.
The idea to box the pasta with the processed cheese as an easy dinner came about when a
salesman started selling pasta with a packet of Kraft cheese attached with a rubber band.
Inspired by that, Kraft began marketing the product as Kraft Dinner, with one box costing
only pennies.
Because of its affordability, long shelf life, and ability to feed a family of four, the
product flew off shelves and sold 8 million boxes in the first year.
World War II kept the popularity of the product going, due to food rationing during wartime.
Two boxes of Kraft Dinner could be purchased for one rationing coupon, and Kraft sold 80
million boxes in 1943.
"This is incredible!"
"You like it?!"
"That is such a relief because I worked so hard on it."
"Yeah!"
"I call it Mac's famous mac n' cheese."
The biggest fans in the world
Think you love this stuff?
You might not have anything on the average Canadian, because they're way more serious
about their boxed cheesy pasta than Americans.
They eat so much of it that they've made Kraft Dinner the top selling grocery item in their
country, with each person eating an average of 3.2 boxes each per year.
That's an astounding 55 percent more than Americans eat, and it's such a big deal it
even got a trendy new name and makeover in 2015: Now, Kraft Dinner is just KD.
Canadians are also responsible for a good chunk of the worldwide mac and cheese consumption,
eating 1.7 million of the 7 million boxes sold each week.
They do love their KD!
"Ooo, cheese.
Oooh, cheese!"
"He's gone a bit wrong."
Is it toxic?
A 2017 study of boxed mac and cheese had people swearing off one of their favorite comfort
foods due to the presence of phthalates.
But should we really worry?
Phthalates are a group of chemicals that get into foods during the manufacturing process,
and a small study found that 29 of 30 cheese products tested contained phthalates.
Powdered cheeses contain about four times more than natural cheese, but even though
certain phthalates have been banned in children's products since 2008, it's probably not as
bad as it initially seemed.
In response to the study, Kraft said, in part,
"The safety of phthalates has been assessed by the US Food and Drug Administration and
other authorities, such as the Centers for Disease Control.
The trace levels found in the one limited test of mac and cheese are well below any
level of concern.
Hundreds of servings of mac and cheese would need to be consumed daily over an entire lifetime
in order to exceed levels determined as safe."
Enjoy away!
Just maybe not a hundred boxes a day.
What's the white stuff?
If you've ever made Kraft's microwavable Easy Mac, you might have noticed a white powder
inside.
It's not the cheese powder, so what is it?
The package reads,
"Note: You will see loose white powder in pasta.
This is necessary for proper cooking."
That just sort of makes it more mysterious, but Kraft says it's nothing more than modified
food starch included to prevent the Easy Mac from boiling over in the microwave.
It also acts as a thickening agent, but since it's commonly made from corn, wheat, potato,
and tapioca, that's something to keep in mind if you have allergies.
If you do, just stick with the stovetop stuff.
Secret switcheroo
So, did you notice when they changed the recipe without telling anyone?
In what Kraft called "the world's largest blind taste test," it was revealed in March
2016 that the company had overhauled their original mac and cheese recipe to remove artificial
flavors, preservatives, and dyes.
But the change actually took place in December 2015, and by the time they let us all in on
the secret, they'd sold more than 50 million boxes without anyone noticing.
The recipe reformulation came in response to consumers' desire for simpler ingredients.
That classic yellow color is no longer achieved with yellow 5 and yellow 6, but paprika, annatto,
and turmeric.
Well played, Kraft.
"Word to your mother."