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Kraft Dinner

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Regular Kraft Dinner preparation: boiling water with pasta-noodles inside the pot, cheese powder package and colander to the right
Kraft Easy Mac

Kraft Dinner, also known as KD, Kraf Dinner, Kraft Mac n' Cheese, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, or Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner is a pasta dish of macaroni and cheese that is produced by the Kraft company.

The product was originally marketed as Kraft Dinner, but is now known in the United States and other countries as Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (Dinner). In the United Kingdom, it is marketed as Cheesey Pasta, while in Canada, it has retained its original name of Kraft Dinner (and nickname KD).

The product is also heavily promoted toward children in the United States on television with the promotional name Kraft Cheese & Macaroni. When advertising to younger children, the television advert encourages the children to ask for The Blue Box.

The product comes in three primary compositions:

  • The traditional form of dry macaroni pasta and powdered processed cheese. To prepare the dish, one boils the pasta, and then adds milk, butter or margarine and the cheese powder.
  • The deluxe form, with the powdered processed cheese replaced with Velveeta or Cheddar cheese spread. This allows the cheese to be applied directly to the cooked pasta without additional preparation or ingredients.
  • Kraft Easy Mac - single servings that includes a portion of macaroni and a mixture of processed cheese and milk powder. Unlike the boxed version, it is designed to be prepared using only water and a microwave in 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Instructions are included on each individual packet. Recently, Kraft released new additional flavors and sizes of Easy Mac, meant for varied appetites (the original version is small enough that a standard serving for an adult consumer was actually two packets).

Note: The dish may be prepared the "poor man's way" with boiling the pasta, straining the water out, placing on a plate and sprinkling on only the cheese.

In the United States from the late 1980s to late 1990s, the marketing term "Kraft Cheese and Macaroni" was used to emphasize its flavor (advertised as "the cheesiest"); however, this term was never used on the actual product boxes, which remained labeled "Kraft Macaroni and Cheese" throughout the period.

Variations

In 1937, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese dinner was introduced in the U.S. and Canada by Sam Kraft. The timing of the product's launch had much to do with its success. During World War II, rationing on milk and dairy, and an increased reliance on meatless entrees, created a captive market for the product, which was considered a hearty meal for families.

The following decades introduced improvements in flavor, shelf life and, eventually, different shapes. New shape expansions to the brand began in 1975 with spirals, and then wheels in 1988. In the mid-1990s, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese expanded into even more innovative shapes with noodles in the form of popular kids' characters, including: Super Mario Brothers, Flintstones, Bugs Bunny and Friends, Rugrats, Pokémon, Blue's Clues, Animaniacs, Scooby Doo! and SpongeBob SquarePants.

New product lines, including: Kraft Thick ‘N Creamy, Deluxe Four Cheese, Cheesy Alfredo, Light Deluxe and Premium White were introduced into the market throughout the 1990s. Kraft Easy Mac was launched in 1998 to provide kids and parents with easy-to-make, single-serving pouches of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese that only needs added water and can be cooked in the microwave. Some use two packages of cheese for more flavor.

The Kraft company has also released many varieties of the dish:

  • Original Kraft Dinner (The Cheesiest)
  • Kraft Dinner with Egg Noodles
  • Kraft Dinner Sharp Cheddar
  • Kraft Dinner White Cheddar
  • Kraft Dinner Alfredo
  • Kraft Dinner Shapes
  • Kraft Dinner Cheese and Tomato
  • Spaghetti & Cheese Kraft Dinner
  • Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce Kraft Dinner
  • Kraft Dinner Extra Creamy (Thick 'n Creamy Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner in the United States)
  • Tomato Marinara
  • Creamy Garlic
  • Easy Mac
  • Cheese & Bacon
  • Deluxe Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese
  • Three Cheese Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
  • Kraft Dinner Microwavable Cups
  • Whole Grain

There are regular promotional tie-in versions of the Kraft Dinner. Packages have come with noodles in the shapes of characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Amazing Spiderman, Super Mario Bros., Shrek, Yo mama, Rugrats, The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, The Incredible Hulk, Animaniacs and others. In Canada, Burger King's kids meal includes Kraft Dinner.

Recently, Kraft has released "Macaroni & Cheese Crackers", which are crunchy baked crackers much like Cheez-Its.

In 2008, Kraft introduced "Original Kraft Dinner; Now with More Cheese" as a replacement for the "Original" KD. In fact, this product is nothing like the original, with an entirely new flavour.

Other companies have created similar macaroni and cheese products. In Canada, the No Name and President's Choice brands have both had some success.

Vegetarian concerns

Kraft has disclosed using rennet, an animal sourced enzyme, in the production of their cheese sauce.[1]

The song "If I Had $1,000,000" by the Canadian group Barenaked Ladies includes a memorable lyric about how if the band had $1,000,000 they would not have to eat Kraft Dinner. They then go on to say that of course they would still eat Kraft Dinner, in fact they would eat more, complete with fancy (in some versions, dijon) ketchup. In the group's live performances, fans formerly would frequently throw boxes of Kraft Dinner onto the stage at that point in the song. These are now collected at the door and later given to charity.

In the animated American television series South Park, recurring characters Terrance and Phillip often refer to Kroff Dinner, and it seems to be the only thing they eat. This appears to be a device designed to emphasize the fact that Terrance and Phillip are Canadian, and the food also seems to be the source of their trademark flatulence.

In Weird Al Yankovic's song "Canadian Idiot", he mentions the stereotype of Canadians eating a lot of Kraft Dinner ("...eat their weight in Kraft macaroni"). Weird Al mentioned in a radio interview about the song that he was inspired by the Barenaked Ladies' "If I Had $1,000,000" to include that line.

Canadian thrash metal band Annihilator pays homage to Kraft Dinner in the song Kraf Dinner off their 1990 album Never, Neverland.

The Kids In The Hall performed a sketch called "Macaroni" in their third season. Two poor street performers eat Kraft Dinner every night with ketchup and receive a lifetime supply of each product, as well as a lifetime supply of tapeworm food for the tapeworms they have gained by eating macaroni and ketchup every night.

Singer Kurt Cobain, who suffered from a rare stomach disorder, found that Kraft Macaroni & Cheese was one of the few foods he could eat, and stipulated in Nirvana's tour rider that his diet consist only of that product.[2]

Sodium content

There are 700mg of sodium in the Easy Mac version versus the 550 mg in the traditional packet-based version. This is evident in both the taste and the existence of a white saltlike powder in the bottom of the Easy Mac Bowls. The salt is likely there to raise the boiling point (see Boiling point elevation) of the water and decrease cooking time as well as to add flavor. The additional sodium may also be a concern for those on a low sodium diet.

References

  1. ^ Is Kraft Macaroni vegetarian? - VeggieBoards - Vegetarian Forum
  2. ^ "The Guardian: The deaths of Sid Vicious and Kurt Cobain".

See also

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