# When and why did Mac & Cheese become a thing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [August 18, 2021, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103 "2021-08-18T17:01:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/61 "2021-08-21T15:48:46Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Slacker! I didn’t say I’ve never made my own pasta, just didn’t feel up to it for this dish. There are a number of things that there is an enormous quality difference between homemade and out of a box, and pasta really hasn’t been one of them, not enough to justify the work involved, anyway. > [@DesertDog](#): > > Seriously though, as someone who hasn’t mastered the art of a successful roux (and by extension bechamel or gravy) I am envious. It’s an odd one. I find it second nature, the base of half the stuff I cook, so never even give it a second thought. But I do remember the first few times I tried making gravies and them turning out pretty horrendously. > [@DesertDog](#): > > I guess for cheesy goodness I’ll have to stick to [chupa queso](https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2003-09-06), fried cheese stuffed with cheese. It’s trickier than it looks as the window where the shell is integrated enough to hang together yet not too brittle to withstand the folding is narrow. Back in 2004, I was an acting Chef in a hotel restaurant. Chupa Queso became quite the fan favorite as an appetizer special. They are actually a whole lot easier to make on a flat top grill than in a skillet. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/62 "2021-08-21T16:19:09Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I didn’t say I’ve never made my own pasta, just didn’t feel up to it for this dish. But have you made your own pasta from home-grown organic heirloom grain varieties? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/63 "2021-08-21T17:16:41Z")
Peas and trimmed broccoli florets are nice in there, too. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/64 "2021-08-21T23:00:58Z")
I have frozen lobster meat. I am going to make [Alton’s stove top Mac 'n Cheese](https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/stovetop-mac-n-cheese-recipe-1939465) to add them into. Which cheeses do you think would work best? My plan is to broil the lobster in butter and add after the mac 'n cheese is done. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/65 "2021-08-22T01:27:10Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > > [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > > > Yeah, macaroni and cheese famously can be traced back to the 18th century as a popular dish. > > Indeed, it was considered among English speakers such a quintessentially sophisticated Continental food that its name was borrowed to describe a style of glamorous trendiness in male fashion. > > In fact, that sort of glamorous trendiness is what the naive rustic Yankee Doodle thought he was imitating when he stuck a feather in his cap. > > (The slang term “macaroni” to denote fashionableness underwent semantic degradation and ended up meaning ridiculously exaggerated and effeminate-looking style, but it started out as a compliment.) At one of the houses in Colonial Williamsburg, possibly the Randolph house, the kitchen tour includes comment on macaroni as a fashionable luxury food, imported from Europe and demonstrating the sophisticated taste of the host who served it. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/66 "2021-08-22T01:43:45Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I have to say that this thread inspired me to do a pulled pork BBQ and Mac n Cheese dinner last night. There is a restaurant chain called **[Metro Diner](https://metrodiner.com/)** and up until Covid hit, they had a dinner item called, IIRC, _Pulled Pork Mac Attack_, which consisted of a huge mound of pulled pork (in BBQ sauce), on top of a massive amount of wonderful M&C, ON TOP OF a cornbread waffle (with cinnamon butter). You literally didn’t need to eat for a day-and-a-half after consuming this monstrosity. Oh, and it was 2150 calories! 😲 I’ve had to go back to eating their meat loaf on mashed potatoes, which is also excellent. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/67 "2021-08-22T02:20:30Z")
I’ve seen lobster mac n cheese on menus for years, so to me it’s one of the more common variants. I hate the stuff myself. It was one of the cheaper Friday night dinner options – I was a kid before they stopped the no meat on Friday thing – so we got a lot of it. I only could tolerate it if it were baked. The slimy cheese sauce I refused to eat. What can I say? My mom always said I had champagne tastes on a beer budget. My younger sister loved it, and for a long time she’d eat the Kraft crap almost weekly. During the lockdown, she got some boxes of it and was lamenting that her taste had developed away it. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/68 "2021-08-22T16:59:56Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > Cheddar is not easy to find in Switzerland, as it is an English cheese. That’s interesting; it’s available in pretty much every German and Austrian supermarket I’ve been to, usually in at least a couple different brands, and in several varieties (mild or sharp, yellow or orange). Many supermarkets also have Red Leicester and maybe one or two other English cheeses. Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, on the other hand, is pretty hard to find. I’ve only ever seen it in specialty British shops in the larger cities or in online stores catering to expats. (Not that it’s a British food, but most such stores tend to sell a few American products as well.) It’s usually quite expensive, too—usually upwards of €4 a box. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/69 "2021-08-22T18:00:28Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > But have you made your own pasta from home-grown organic heirloom grain varieties? Not specifically, but the times I have made my own pasta was when and because I had access to high quality semola flour. I’ve made it out of all-purpose before, but I really didn’t see the point, other than practice. I’ve had years with a fairly comprehensive garden, but never grown my own wheat. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2021, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/70 "2021-08-22T21:35:48Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I’ve had years with a fairly comprehensive garden, but never grown my own wheat. By coincidence there is a variety of high gluten wheat that grows well here in Arizona, [Desert Durum](http://www.arizonagrain.com/index.cfm?show=10&mid=9), the bulk of which is grown by contract farmers and shipped to Italy where it is milled and turned into pasta. You can get the seed grain in one pound packages and I’ve been toying with buying one and having a wheat patch, mainly for the goose to snack on. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/71 "2021-08-23T16:10:48Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > It’s an odd one. I find it second nature, the base of half the stuff I cook, so never even give it a second thought. But I do remember the first few times I tried making gravies and them turning out pretty horrendously. Well it is one of the ‘mother’ sauces. I am not fond of gravy in general though I do make it for the classic Thanksgiving Dinner, and have been since I took over the making of said annual feast when I was 14 [so, 46 years, yikes.] ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/72 "2021-08-23T16:14:54Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > There is a restaurant chain called **[Metro Diner](https://metrodiner.com/)** and up until Covid hit, they had a dinner item called, IIRC, _Pulled Pork Mac Attack_ , which consisted of a huge mound of pulled pork (in BBQ sauce), on top of a massive amount of wonderful M&C, ON TOP OF a cornbread waffle (with cinnamon butter). You literally didn’t need to eat for a day-and-a-half after consuming this monstrosity. > > Oh, and it was 2150 calories! 😲 Holy shit! I eat 1800 cal a day, though when I was doing the chemo/radiation diarrhea blast I was eating 4-5000 cal a day and losing weight [dropped from 235 down to 180 between April and December, most of it starting around August.] 0 stars, do not recommend as a weight lose regime!!! I wonder if one could plead OCD/spectrum and get it served in 3 plop instead of all piled. Would make it easier to take home leftovers without the waffle going all squidgy. That would pretty much feed me for 2 whole days if I added in enough fresh fruit to keep my guts happy. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/73 "2021-08-23T18:52:01Z")
^ It looks like Metro Diner doesn’t serve the Pulled Pork Mac Attack anymore but – even though it never occurred to me – I’d’ve bet they wouldn’t have had any problem serving it in three separate sections; they have plenty of plates. That waffle was to die for! Sorry to hear about your chemo/radiation episode; have you fully recovered? I’m a food hog but I can’t imagine consuming that amount of calories in a day – and losing weight, to boot. We’ll have no more of these fad diets, if you please. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/74 "2021-08-23T20:22:36Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > There is a restaurant chain called **[Metro Diner](https://metrodiner.com/)** and up until Covid hit, they had a dinner item called, IIRC, _Pulled Pork Mac Attack_ , which consisted of a huge mound of pulled pork (in BBQ sauce), on top of a massive amount of wonderful M&C, ON TOP OF a cornbread waffle (with cinnamon butter). That sounds very similar to a sandwich on the menu at a local [dive and food truck operator](https://drewskis.com/). It consists of mac and cheese, pulled pork, grilled onions, and more cheese, on a sandwich. Or you could think of it as a grilled cheese with pulled pork, onions, and macaroni. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/75 "2021-08-24T14:39:43Z")
The Covid-19 pandemic has not been kind to mac & cheese fanciers in Ohio. For the second straight year, the Columbus Mac & Cheese Festival was canceled, and following the cancellation of the 2020 Ohio State Fair, the 2021 Fair was closed to the public (one highly anticipated food to be offered there was the Deep-Fried Mac & Cheese On A Stick). When will it end? 😟 By the way, you can grow a bushel of wheat in just an average-sized backyard!\* > **[How to Grow and Harvest Grains in Your Backyard](https://modernfarmer.com/2015/08/how-to-grow-and-harvest-grains-in-your-backyard/)** > > Bread, beer, and pasta all originate with a planting of grain seed in fall. Be the first on your block to grow your own. \*unless the HOA forbids it. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/76 "2021-08-24T14:48:47Z")
“Grow your own beer!” would be an interesting, and probably successful, ad campaign. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/77 "2021-08-24T15:10:45Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > ^ It looks like Metro Diner doesn’t serve the Pulled Pork Mac Attack anymore but – even though it never occurred to me – I’d’ve bet they wouldn’t have had any problem serving it in three separate sections; they have plenty of plates. That waffle was to die for! > > Sorry to hear about your chemo/radiation episode; have you fully recovered? I’m a food hog but I can’t imagine consuming that amount of calories in a day – and losing weight, to boot. We’ll have no more of these fad diets, if you please. 😉 Bummer, it sounded fantastic 😢 Getting there, just resolving a couple patches of radiation burns. I am back on 1800 cal a day and happy about it. After being diabetic since 1980, the increase in calories made me seriously uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103/78 "2021-08-24T15:18:46Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > By the way, you can grow a bushel of wheat in just an average-sized backyard!\* I grew oats a couple summers ago. It was fun, but I still haven’t figured out how to get the husks off. And yes, I grew the ‘hulless’ variety, but they still have a papery covering that I found impossible to get off efficiently. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-did-mac-cheese-become-a-thing/949103.md?page=3)