Macaroni and cheese

Macaroni and cheese

A side dish of macaroni and cheese
Alternative names	Mac and cheese (U.S.) Macaroni cheese (UK) Macaroni pie (Caribbean)
Course	Snack, side dish
Place of origin	United Kingdom/United States
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Macaroni, cheese sauce, milk, butter
Food energy (per serving)	400 (Kraft) kcal
Cookbook: Macaroni and cheese   Media: Macaroni and cheese

Macaroni and cheese, also known as "mac and cheese", "macaroni cheese" in British English, or "macaroni pie" in Caribbean English, is a common casserole consisting of cooked macaroni with a cheese sauce. Macaroni and cheese is often prepared using a packaged food mix.

History

Macaroni is mentioned in various medieval Italian sources, though it's not always clear whether it's a noodle or a prepared dish. However, pasta and cheese casseroles are recorded in cookbooks of the time such as the Liber de Coquina showing that they were a known style of dish. A cheese and noodle casserole known as Makerouns was recorded in an English cookbook in the 14th century. It was made with fresh hand-cut noodles which were sandwiched between a mixture of melted butter and cheese. It was apparently considered an upperclass dish even in Italy until around the 18th century.

Its popularity in the United States has been attributed to Thomas Jefferson for serving it at a White House dinner in 1802, although a spontaneous and diffuse appearance of the dish is more likely. It has been popular in the United Kingdom since the Victorian era.

Modern

Packaged versions of the dish are available as a convenience food, consisting of boxed pasta and either a liquid cheese sauce, or the powdered ingredients to prepare it. In the latter case, the consumer may add 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. Extra ingredients, such as ground beef, jalapeños, sliced hot dogs, Spam, tabasco sauce, bacon, tuna, peas, or other vegetables are sometimes incorporated into the dish. The product can be prepared in a microwave, baked in a traditional oven, or cooked on a kitchen stove top.

There are a number of different products are on the market which use this basic formulation with minor variations in ingredients. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, known as "Kraft Dinner" in Canada, introduced in 1937, was the original brand name product.

Store brands

Store brands such as Kroger, Shur Fine, Safeway, and Great Value generally share the nutritional values and ingredients of the original product, "Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, The Cheesiest" which contains enriched macaroni product (flour (wheat flour; niacin; ferrous sulfate (iron); thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1); riboflavin; folic acid), cheese sauce mix (whey; milkfat; milk protein concentrate; salt; sodium tripolyphosphate (E451, emulsifier)), contains less than 2% citric acid, lactic acid; sodium phosphate (E339, Antioxidant); calcium phosphate (E340, Antioxidant); milk; FD&C Yellow 5 (E102 lemon yellow food colouring); FD&C Yellow 6 (E110 yellow-orange food colouring); enzymes; and cheese culture.

A package of "Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, The Cheesiest" produces 3 servings of about 1 cup each of the prepared product. Each serving contains 400 calories of which 170 are from fat. If the product is made with margarine which contains trans fat and 2% milk a serving contains 15.5g total fat, 29% of the daily value, of which 3g are saturated fat, 23% of the daily value and 4g trans fat, 710 mg of sodium, 30% of the daily value, but only 1g of dietary fiber, 4% of the daily value.

Annie's Homegrown produces a complete line of natural organic packaged dry macaroni and cheese mixes which differ significantly from Kraft's original product. The original Annie's Homegrown product, Annie's Homegrown Organic Classic Macaroni & Cheese, is made with organic ingredients using annatto for coloring.

There is a similar traditional dish in Switzerland, called Älplermagronen (Alpine Herder's Macaroni), which is also available in boxed versions. Älplermagronen are made from 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.

Health concerns

Macaroni and cheese is rated low as a food choice for people seeking to lose weight. Due to its low cost relative to other prepared dinners it appeals especially to low-income shoppers, exacerbating concerns about its effect on obesity. Most manufacturers of macaroni and cheese now offer "reduced calorie" options on their packages that allow cooks to omit ingredients that add to the calorie, and in particular, fat level.

Macaroni and cheese is often served on menus in restaurants. Often the dishes are fresh-made and of higher quality than packaged macaroni and cheese. However, according to "Eat This, Not That, for Kids" (Zinczenko, 2008) fresh macaroni and cheese meals typically have more calories and fat than boxed dinners, as many as 1000 calories. Some restaurants have reduced portion size and fat in their macaroni and cheese dinners to mitigate such health concern.

There are several methods to reduce fat and calories in the dish. Cooks may use skim milk, nonfat yogurt, or water and omit the butter or substitute olive oil when making dishes. Homemade macaroni and cheese can be made with skim milk or canned tomatoes instead of cream. Whole wheat pasta can be used in place of white flour pasta. However, children may reject whole wheat pasta due to its dark color; cooks at the Disneyland Resort have developed a palatable macaroni and cheese recipe using white-colored pasta with ground lentils, chickpeas and egg whites and a low-fat cheddar cheese and fat-free milk.

According to Elaine Magee of the WebMD Weight Loss Clinic the nutritional problems with packaged macaroni and cheese may be mitigated by using a reduced quantity of no-trans-fat margarine rather than butter, using low-fat milk, adding a dollop of fat-free or light sour cream for creaminess and adding vegetables such as broccoli to the prepared product or meal. It is estimated that such modifications may reduce calories per serving, 4 servings a box, by 72 calories and 8 g fat per serving and add 2.3 g fiber.

See also

• Carbonara
• Fettuccine alfredo

mac n cheese is fake n gay

External links

• The Best Gourmet Macaroni and Cheese Recipes of 2009
• 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.