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Mac 'n' Cheese, Please!

Discover the history and science behind a beloved American food

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As you read, think about how different cultures, events, and discoveries can affect what we eat.

Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, held a dinner at the White House in 1802. On the menu? A dish he’d discovered while in France—macaroni and cheese! The earliest mac ’n’ cheese recipes in the U.S. used expensive cheeses and pastas from Europe. Over time, the dish evolved into an affordable food—and a nationwide obsession.

In the 1930s, the U.S. economy crumbled during the Great Depression. Many people lost their jobs. They needed inexpensive food to eat.  

Grant Leslie, a pasta salesman in St. Louis, Missouri, hatched an idea. To help sell boxes of noodles, Leslie began bundling them with packets of grated cheese made by the Kraft cheese company. 

Processed cheese contains chemicals called (ih-MUHL-sih-fye-uhrz). These substances prevent fats and oils in the cheese from separating when they’re heated. The mix of oil and fat turns the cheese into a creamy sauce that mac ’n’ cheese is known for today.

Kraft hired Leslie and turned his creation into its now-classic boxed mac ’n’ cheese. In 1937, each package could feed a family of four for just 19 cents. That year, Americans bought more than 8 million boxes.

Today, Kraft sells nearly 1 million boxes a day! And with so many people recently working and attending school from home, Americans have been reaching for this quick comfort food more than ever.

processed

changed by a series of steps

melting point

the temperature at which a substance changes from a solid to a liquid

emulsifiers

chemicals that help two liquids mix

patent

a legal document that gives inventors ownership over their inventions

dehydrated

dried out

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