Macaroni and cheese is an American food staple that—depending on what area of the country you’re in—can come stuffed with seafood, peppered with chicken, topped with gorgonzola, mixed with buffalo sauce or be crusty on the top. There are never-ending ways to make mac and cheese in America. But where did this dish originate, how did it arrive in the USA—and why is it so popular?
Who invented mac and cheese?
Considering their love of pasta and cheese, it makes sense that the Italians are credited with inventing the dish. The oldest pasta and cheese recipe was found in the Liber de Coquina (The Book of Cookery), which is believed to have been written by an anonymous chef in Latin and emerged from the Neapolitan court in the early 14th century. As Alberto Capatti writes in his book Italian Cuisine: A Cultural History, Liber de Coquina is Italy’s oldest recipe collection.
It wasn’t until 1390, however, that mac and cheese debuted in an English-language cookbook, reports the BBC. It did so in The Forme of Cury (The Method of Cooking), which is credited to one of King Richard II’s master cooks. However, both of these dishes use flat noodles. Food historian Paul Imhof believes the first known mention of macaroni—along with instructions for shaping the hollow pasta—appears in the 15th-century Italian cookbook Libro de Arte Coquinaria by Martino da Como, a pivotal figure in medieval culinary history.
Who brought mac and cheese to the United States?
Between 1784 and 1789, Thomas Jefferson lived in Europe as the American minister to France. By the time Jefferson had to return to America he was so enamored with European food that he brought a macaroni maker from Naples back with him.
But while it’s long been written that Jefferson was the man who brought mac and cheese to America, it was his enslaved chef James Hemings who honed and adapted the recipe. Hemings joined Jefferson during his stint in Paris, where he is believed to have taken part in culinary training, according to Today.com.
The official website for Monticello, Jefferson’s estate, notes that a recipe for macaroni and cheese written by the third president still endures, although it was most likely dictated to Jefferson by Hemings or his other chef, Edith Hern Fossett. Hemings and Fossett are known to have served mac and cheese at state dinners. The Library Of Congress even holds a drawing of Jefferson’s design for a pasta machine.
How did mac and cheese become so popular?
Mac and cheese really exploded in popularity in America during the Great Depression and World War II. Kraft introduced their boxed version of the meal in 1937. It was cheap, filling and easy to make and store. During World War II, families could purchase two boxes of mac and cheese and spend only one ration point.
In 2022, Kraft reported that they still sell over over a million boxes of mac and cheese every 24 hours in the United States, proving that the dish continues to warm and satisfy people across the country.
