National Mac and Cheese Day

Today is National Mac and Cheese Day. You can make it from a box or the homemade version. It is one of the most popular comfort foods in the world.

Supposedly, Francesco Procopio, an Italian chef, invented macaroni and cheese in 1891. He was trying to create a dish that was better than spaghetti carbonara. At first, he was not successful until he added macaroni to the dish.

It became popular when Kraft began selling it in a box in 1937. It originally sold for nineteen cents a box during the Great Depression. During WWII, when rationing of food took place and meat was hard to get, macaroni and cheese became even more popular. No one knows who started National Mac and Cheese Day/

Here are some facts about macaroni and cheese:

• Crayola named one of its crayon colors Macaroni and Cheese in 1993.
• It is considered a national dish in Canada.
• Kraft Macaroni and cheese is the most purchased grocery item in Canada.
• Thomas Jefferson loved macaroni and cheese so much that he imported Parmesan cheese and macaroni so he could eat it.

Macaroni and cheese is one of my favorite dishes. Of course, I love any dish with pasta in it but I ate this in college because it made me think of home. It was my main comfort food. I still love this many years later. When my children were growing up, I sometimes mixed tuna in it. Another night I would mix sweet green peas with it. Now I like to eat it plain but sprinkle crushed red peppers on it.

I think it would be fun to have students take a survey of how many people like macaroni and cheese. How many eat it plain? How many add something to it? How many eat it from a box or homemade? They can make charts using this data.

Do you like macaroni and cheese? What other questions could be asked? Please share.

Photo by Mariana Ibanez on Unsplash