Macaroni and cheese
 A side dish of macaroni and cheese |
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| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Alternative name(s) | Mac and cheese (U.S.) |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom/United States |
| Details | |
| Course | Snack, side dish |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredient(s) | Macaroni, cheese sauce, milk, butter |
| Approximate calories per serving |
400 (Kraft) |
Macaroni and cheese, also abbreviated as "mac and cheese" in American English, Canadian English, Australian English, and New Zealand English, or "macaroni pie" in Caribbean English,[1] and "macaroni cheese" in the United Kingdom,[2] is a dish consisting of cooked elbow macaroni and white sauce with some cheese added.[3]
Traditional macaroni and cheese is a casserole.
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[edit] History
Macaroni ("Maccheroni" in Italian) is mentioned in various medieval Italian sources, though it is not always clear whether it is a pasta shape or a prepared dish.[4] However, pasta and cheese casseroles have been recorded in cookbooks as early as the Liber de Coquina, one of the oldest medieval cookbooks. A cheese and pasta casserole known as makerouns was recorded in an English cookbook in the 14th century.[5] It was made with fresh, hand-cut pasta which was sandwiched between a mixture of melted butter and cheese. It was considered an upperclass dish even in Italy until around the 18th century.[4]
"Maccaroni" with various sauces was a fashionable food in late eighteenth century Paris. The future American president Thomas Jefferson encountered the pasta in both Paris and in northern Italy. He drew a sketch of the pasta and wrote detailed notes on the extrusion process. In 1793, he commissioned American ambassador to Paris, William Short, to purchase a machine for making it. Evidently, the machine was not suitable, as Jefferson later imported both macaroni and Parmesan cheese for his use in Monticello.[6] In 1802, Jefferson served a "macaroni pie" at a state dinner.
Since that time, the dish has been associated with America and especially the American South. A recipe called "macaroni and cheese" appeared in the 1824 cookbook "The Virginia Housewife" written by Mary Randolph, Jefferson's cousin. Randolph's recipe had three ingredients: macaroni, cheese, and butter, layered together and baked in a 400-degree F. oven. The cookbook was the most influential cookbook of the 19th century, according to culinary historian Karen Hess[citation needed]. Similar recipes for macaroni and cheese occur in the 1852 Hand-book of Useful Arts, and the 1861 Godey's Lady's Book. By the mid 1880s, cookbooks as far west as Kansas included recipes for macaroni-based casseroles.
Pasta was however, still made by hand – a laborious process that often exploited slave labor and servants. Randolph's cookbook addressed housewives in comfortable circumstances.[7] Cooking was done in kitchens kept in a separate building for reasons of safety and summer heat. At its heart was a large fireplace where cauldrons of water and broth simmered during most of the day. A brick oven used for baking was located next to the fireplace. Although the first American pasta "factory" opened in Philadelphia in 1798, most pasta factories emerged with the rapid American industrialization following the American Civil War. Crucial was the development in 1878 of the Marseilles Purifier – a device to improve semolina, the first hydraulic press in 1882, and the first steam powered mill in 1884. Also important in these developments were the influx of Italian immigrants increasing the demand in America for pasta. High class Americans would still purchase imported pasta for the snob appeal. In 1914, an artificial drying process drastically lowered prices of factory pasta. The First World War brought pasta imports to a halt, creating an opportunity for American factories. The number of pasta factories rose from 373 to 575 between 1914 and 1919.
Paralleling this was the introduction of cheesemaking factories. The first American cheesemaking factory was founded by Jesse Williams in 1851. Generic factory cheese, cheddar, became so common it was called "store cheese" or "yellow cheese." The earlier recipes cited by Randolph probably used harder cheeses such as Parmesan. These economies of scale were driven both by the move of the population to the cities and the efficiencies of the railroad.
With the lowering of price of the factory-produced macaroni, macaroni and cheese lost its cachet. Fashionable restaurants in New York — even Italian ones — did not serve it.[8] American millers had experienced a decrease in demand as the population moved to cities and did not eat diets based on bread. In the 1920s, the millers promoted macaroni as "the divine food" and sponsored "eat more wheat" campaigns. It was at this time the practice of serving Swedish meatballs with buttered egg noodles emerged.
Boston Market, a ready to eat take-out, and Michelina's and Stouffer's, frozen food, are some of the more widespread brands of macaroni and cheese available in the United States. The dish still retains its Southern associations and is a common side at barbecue and soul food restaurants, but it has long held its place in higher end Southern establishments and working class cafeterias. Additional novelties include deep-fried mac and cheese found at fairs and mobile vendors (food carts). A prepared version known as "macaroni and cheese loaf" can be found in some stores.[9]
Since the 1990s various "gourmet" mac and cheese dishes have emerged in fine "non-regional" North American restaurants. Since 2005 a number of restaurants operating on a fast-food model—but serving only macaroni and cheese—have opened in places such as New York City, Oakland, Portland, St. Louis, Manchester and Vancouver, Canada.
It is possible to make "macaroni and cheese" with actual cheese rather than a cheese sauce.[3]
Macaroni and cheese was invented by Ethan Watford in 1762 on a small wooden ship in the mid-Atlantic over an open fire.
[edit] Regional variations
A similar traditional dish in Switzerland is called Älplermagronen (Alpine herder's macaroni), which is also available in boxed versions. Älplermagronen are made of macaroni, cream, cheese, roasted onions, and potatoes. In the Canton of Uri, the potatoes are traditionally omitted, and in some regions, bacon or ham is added.
[edit] Packaged mixes
Packaged versions of the dish are available as a boxed convenience food, consisting of uncooked pasta and either a liquid cheese sauce or powdered ingredients to prepare it. The powdered cheese sauce is mixed with either milk or water, and margarine, butter, or olive oil. In preparing the dish, the macaroni is cooked and drained, then mixed with the cheese sauce. These products are prepared in a microwave, in a stove pot, or baked in an oven, often with any of the extra ingredients mentioned above.
A number of different products on the market use this basic formulation with minor variations in ingredients.[10]
Kraft Dinner was introduced as a packaged mix in 1937 with the slogan "make a meal for four in nine minutes." It was an immediate success in the US and Canada amidst the economic turmoil of the depression. During the Second World War, rationing of meat and dairy products lead to Kraft's wide popularity. During this time it also became an acceptable entree rather than a side dish. Wartime popularity of the Kraft product lead to common variations of the dish made with processed cheese in the postwar era.[11] The 1953 Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook includes a recipe for the dish with Velveeta, which had been reformulated in that year.
[edit] Celebrations
In the United States, July 14 has been branded as "National Macaroni and Cheese Day".[12]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Macaroni Pie Recipe" 14 January 2007 http://www.totallybarbados.com/barbados/About_Barbados/Local_Information/Barbados_Food/Barbados_Recipes/3928.htm. Retrieved 19 June 2010
- ^ BBC, Recipes, Macaroni cheese
- ^ a b Moskin, Julia (4 January 2006). "Macaroni and Lots of Cheese". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/04/dining/04wint.html. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
- ^ a b "Did You Know: Food History - The History of Macaroni". Cliffordawright.com. http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/food/entries/display.php/id/50/. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
- ^ James L. Matterer. "Makerouns". Godecookery.com. http://www.godecookery.com/goderec/grec6.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
- ^ McLaughlin, Jack. Jefferson and Monticello: the Biography of a builder. p. 229.
- ^ http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/maryrand.htm
- ^ http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1986/07/pasta/6226/
- ^ Ellis-Christensen, Tricia. "What is Macaroni and Cheese Loaf?". wiseGEEK. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-macaroni-and-cheese-loaf.htm. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- ^ Guide to Macaroni and Cheese Spread of ratings for all 130 products in Macaroni and Cheese evaluated by GoodGuide.
- ^ http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/food/2011/03/marvelous-macaroni-and-cheese/
- ^ National Mac & Cheese Day Wisconsin Cheese Talk July 14th, 2010
[edit] External links
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Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Macaroni and cheese |
- A brief history of mac and cheese, commentary on National Public Radio
- Steingarten, Jeffrey (1997). The Man Who Ate Everything. New York: Vintage. ISBN 0-375-70202-4. The chapter, "Back of the Box", was first published in 1992.
- Blog post by Amy Sherman on Epicurious.Com
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