Kraft Dinner (marketed as KD) in Canada, Kraft Mac & Cheese in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, Mac and Cheese in the United Kingdom and internationally, is a nonperishable, packaged macaroni and cheese mix. It is made by Kraft Foods Group (or former parent company Mondelez internationally) and traditionally cardboard-boxed with dried macaroni pasta and a packet of processed cheese powder. It was introduced under the Kraft Dinner name simultaneously in both Canada and the U.S. in 1937.[1] The brand is particularly popular with Canadians, who consume 55% more boxes per capita than Americans.[2]
There are now many similar products, including private label, of nonperishable boxed macaroni and cheese. Commercially, the line has evolved, with deluxe varieties marketed with liquid processed cheese and microwavable frozen mac-and-cheese meals. The product by Kraft has developed into many flavour variations and formulations, including Easy Mac (a product that has since been renamed Mac & Cheese Dinner Cups), a single-serving product specifically designed for microwave ovens.
The product's innovation, at the time of the Great Depression, was to conveniently market nonperishable dried macaroni noodles together with a processed cheese powder. The product is prepared by cooking the pasta and adding the cheese powder along with butter (or margarine) and milk.
History
The prerequisite to a shelf-stable packaged macaroni and cheese product was the invention of processed cheese, where emulsifying salts help stabilize the product, giving it a longer life. Although James Lewis Kraft, of Fort Erie, Ontario, but living in Chicago, did not invent processed cheese, he won a patent for one processing method in 1916 and began to build his cheese business.[3]
During the Great Depression, a St. Louis, Missouri, salesman, Grant Leslie[4] of Dundee, Scotland[citation needed], had the idea to sell macaroni pasta and cheese together as a package, so he began attaching grated cheese to boxes of pasta with a rubber band.[3] In 1937, Kraft introduced the product in the U.S. and Canada.[1] The timing of the product's launch had much to do with its success: during World War II, the rationing of milk and dairy products, increased reliance on meatless meals, and more women working outside the home created a large market for the product, which was considered a hearty meal for families. Its shelf life of ten months was attractive at a time when many Canadian homes did not have refrigerators.[3] Also, consumers could receive, for one food ration stamp, two boxes. The original box was primarily yellow. 50 million boxes were sold during the war.[5] The box's primary colour changed to blue in 1954, later used in an advertising campaign where children were encouraged to ask for "The Blue Box".
A version with spiral-shaped noodles debuted in 1975, while Velveeta Shells & Cheese were introduced in 1984.[5] A single-serving variation requiring only water for preparation was introduced as Easy Mac in 1999.[6] In 2006, the cheddar and white cheddar versions switched to organic macaroni, while Easy Mac Cups were introduced the same year. In 2007, the noodles switched to 50 percent whole grain.[5]
Macaroni & Cheese Crackers also debuted in 2007. The crackers were discontinued in 2008, as they did not meet company targets. A sub-line, Homestyle Deluxe, was added in 2010 in three flavours: cheddar, four-cheese sauce, and Old World Italian.[5]
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese sold in the United States used to include Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 to make the food a brighter colour.[7][8][9] In Europe, food that contains Yellow 5 requires a warning label saying, "This product may have adverse effect on activity and attention in children."[10][11][12] In 2014, none of the European varieties were made with artificial dyes.
In November 2013, Kraft announced that new pasta shape varieties for children in the U.S. would no longer include Yellow 5 and Yellow 6, the sodium and saturated fat content would decrease, and there would be six more grams of whole grains.
In April 2015, it was announced that those changes, including the elimination of artificial preservatives, would be extended throughout the line after January 2016. Paprika, annatto and turmeric are used for colouring.[13] According to Kraft, the changes were a response to consumer feedback.[14]
In 2018, Kraft-Heinz introduced the KD Shaker, which was a plastic bottle of Kraft Mac and Cheese Dinner's powdered cheese, allowing one to use the cheese powder as they wish, without needing to worry about unused pasta. The product is similar to shelf-stable Parmesan cheese powder bottle cans.[15][16]
In Canadian culture
Previous logo of the Canadian version
Kraft Dinner has been called a de facto national dish of Canada.[18] Packaged in Quebec with Canadian wheat and milk, and other ingredients from Canada and the US,[19] Canadians purchase 1.7 million of the 7 million boxes sold globally each week[2] and eat an average of 3.2 boxes of Kraft Dinner each year, 55% more than Americans. The meal is the most popular grocery item in the country,[20] where "Kraft Dinner" has an iconic status and has become a generic trademark of sorts for macaroni and cheese.[21] It is often simply referred to, and (as of 2023) is now marketed by the initials K.D. As Kraft Dinner has a different name in Canada from the United States and other markets, the Canadian marketing and advertising platform is a made-in-Canada effort that cannot be easily adapted to the US market.[22]
Pundit Rex Murphy wrote that "Kraft Dinner revolves in that all-but-unobtainable orbit of the Tim Hortons doughnut and the A&W Teen Burger. It is one of that great trinity of quick digestibles that have been enrolled as genuine Canadian cultural icons."[23]Douglas Coupland wrote that "cheese plays a weirdly large dietary role in the lives of Canadians, who have a more intimate and intense relationship with Kraft food products than the citizens of any other country. This is not a shameless product plug – for some reason, Canadians and Kraft products have bonded the way Australians have bonded with Marmite [sic, recte:Vegemite], or the English with Heinz baked beans. In particular, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, known simply as Kraft Dinner, is the biggie, probably because it so precisely laser-targets the favoured Canadian food groups: fat, sugar, starch and salt."[24] Immigrants often mention Kraft Dinner when surveys ask for examples of Canadian food.[18] As a measure of the product's Canadian popularity, its Facebook page, KD Battle Zone, attracted 270,000 fans, despite there being no prizes for the contest.[22]
Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies refer to the product in their popular song "If I Had $1000000", indicating that they would continue to eat the inexpensive foodstuff even if they were millionaires. This has often prompted fans at live concerts to throw boxes of Kraft Dinner onto the stage when the line is sung; the band has discouraged this and has urged fans to donate the boxes to their local food bank instead.[25]
As mentioned in the popular song "If I Had $1000000", Canadians will often enjoy their Kraft Dinner with ketchup. It's debated amongst Canadians themselves and often between Canadians and Americans as to if it's proper to eat Kraft Dinner with ketchup or not. Those Canadians that eat K.D. with ketchup often admit it seems odd to eat K.D. with ketchup, but it's just the way it's alway been, ever since they were a kid. It's hard to explain K.D. + ketchup.
On similar note, Canadian thrash metal band Annihilator celebrated Kraft Dinner in their song "Kraf dinner" (sic) on their 1990 album Never, Neverland.
Former Prime Minister Paul Martin regularly referred to it as his favourite food, though he also confessed that he was unable to prepare it.[26] During the same election former Prime Minister Stephen Harper stated that "I'll never be able to give my kids a billion-dollar company, but Laureen and I are saving for their education. And I have actually cooked them Kraft Dinner—I like to add wieners."[27] Most Canadians ignore the instructions and use alternate methods of preparing the food, like adding wieners or cheese.[22] Additional ingredients are not always necessary; simply adjusting the cooking time and the amount of milk or butter/margarine can produce a dish ranging from soft noodles in a creamy sauce to firm noodles in a thin, milky sauce.
In the September 2012 issue of The Walrus magazine, the story "Kraft Dinner is Canada's True National Dish" by Sasha Chapman details the history of the Canadian cheese industry and Kraft's impact on it. She notably draws attention to Canada being unique in favouring a manufactured food product (made by a foreign company) as its national dish at the expense of local cheeses. Chapman's article is structured around this question, from the first page:
But what does it mean if a national dish is manufactured, formulated by scientists in a laboratory in Glenview, Illinois, and sold back to us by the second-largest food company in the world?[18]
Kraft Dinner is a frequent staple of Canadian university student diets. Consequently, university students protesting government funding cuts and tuition hikes have often used Kraft Dinner as a prop to draw attention to their plight.[28][29]
Prepared Kraft Dinner is 71% carbohydrates, 11% protein, and 5% fat (table). In a 100 grams (3.5 ounces) reference serving, Kraft Dinner supplies 382 calories and rich contents (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of sodium (56% DV) and iron (25% DV), with calcium in moderate content (15% DV) (table).
Preparation
The box describes a simple three-step process (the "cooking instructions") for preparing the dinner. The 1-2-3 directions include "Boil," "Drain," and "Add." "Boiling" is further defined as boiling water and adding the pasta, with no reference to added salt or covering of the pan. The directions indicate the pasta cooking time, usually as a range. The "Drain" step shows a colander being used. The last step, "Add," says to add all the ingredients back to the pot (with no reference to whether to leave the pot on the stove or turn off the burner) and mix thoroughly.
Although many people have their personal preferences for quantities of added ingredients, the box has a "classic prep" list that says to use 6 cups water, 1 Tbsp. Margarine and 1/3 cup skim milk. People may also vary the "cooking instructions" to their preferences, including adding salt to the water or omitting ingredients like milk. [citation needed]
Variations
New product lines using different flavours and pasta shapes have been introduced over the decades, and shelf life has increased at various times. [citation needed] Kraft Dinner is seen as an inexpensive, easy-to-make comfort food, with marketing that highlights its value and convenience.[33][34]
The product is now available in a variety of compositions:
Commercial version of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese sold at Burger King
The Original Recipe of dry macaroni pasta (roughly 172 grams) and 70 ml (approximately 42 grams) of powdered processed cheese. This category includes additional flavours of powdered cheese sauce (see Flavours and shapes).
The Deluxe form, with the powdered processed cheese replaced with a prepared, processed cheese sauce that comes in a foil pouch (cheese sauce formerly came in a can). This allows the cheese to be applied directly to the cooked pasta without additional preparation or ingredients. The pasta also differs; elbow macaroni replaces the thin, straight macaroni supplied as part of the "Original Recipe."
The Homestyle form is the newest form of Kraft Mac & Cheese. It is similar to the "Deluxe" form, though it provides a large size and includes seasoned breadcrumbs to apply to the macaroni and cheese. It has three flavours: cheddar cheese, four-cheese, and Old World Italian.[5] It is marketed as being a "more premium option" for those who would not eat the "Original Recipe". This version also has the prepared, processed cheese sauce in a foil pouch. Due to the breadcrumb topping, this form has more sodium than the "Deluxe" or "Original Recipe" forms. As of 2015, this variant has been discontinued due to a lack of demand.
Dinner Cups, formerly Kraft Easy Mac, which makes single-serving portions. This formulation is prepared in a microwave oven and is popular among college students.[5]
A commercial version is manufactured for restaurant distribution and is a frozen, fully prepared product designed to be heated in a microwave. The product can be found at Burger King and Applebee's restaurants.[35]
In the summer of 2021, Kraft Heinz released a selection of stir-in flavour boosters in the Canadian market. There are six different Kraft Dinner Flavour Boosts in the following flavours: Jalapeño, Butter Chicken, Poutine, Buffalo Wings, Ghost Pepper, and Cotton Candy. These packets are added to a prepared pot of Kraft Dinner and are designed to enhance the experience by providing a new flavour variation for the eater.[36]
Kraft Dinner Smart
Kraft Dinner Smart (also known as KD Smart) launched as a healthy sub-brand of the Kraft Dinner brand. It represents a line of Kraft macaroni and cheese products with no artificial flavours, colours, or preservatives and added ingredients like cauliflower, oats, or flax seed blended into the noodles. It comes in four varieties:[37]
Kraft Dinner Smart launched in Canada in March 2010 with two vegetable varieties. In June 2011, the line-up was re-launched with new packaging graphics and two new varieties (Flax Omega-3 and High Fibre).
The product is made with real Kraft cheddar and is manufactured in Mount Royal, Quebec.
Flavours and shapes
The shapes come in the original tenderoni, various pop culture icons, alphabet, numbers and spirals. Organic and whole-grain versions are also available, as well as a larger format box called "family size". The following flavours are available, as of 2024:
Original recipe
Thick N' Creamy
Three cheese
Cheddar explosion
White Cheddar
Spicy Cheddar
Marketing
The product was marketed as Kraft Dinner with the slogan "a meal for four in nine minutes for an everyday price of 19 cents."[38] It was re-branded to Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in the United States and other countries, although the word "Dinner" still appeared in small type on the U.S. version until the 2022 rebrand, and is referred to as the “Kraft Mac & Cheese Dinner” in the product webpage for the American variant.[39] In several markets, it goes by different names; in the United Kingdom, it is also marketed as Cheesey Pasta.
The product is heavily promoted to children in the United States on television. When advertising to younger children, the television advertisement encourages the children to ask for "The Blue Box." In 2010, Kraft launched a $50 million multi-media marketing campaign with a nostalgia theme aimed at adults to promote all varieties of Kraft Dinner.[40] In Canada, Kraft has advertising programs intended to make the meal appealing to newly arrived immigrant groups.[3]
There are regular promotional tie-in versions of the Kraft Dinner aimed at kids. Packages have come with pasta in the shapes of various characters popular with children, such as Looney Tunes, Super Mario Bros., and Star Wars.[33] Kraft Foods has also released many products under the product banner. These include other versions of macaroni and cheese with differently shaped pasta and different flavours, but it has also included completely different dishes, such as spaghetti, in several different flavours.
In promotion of the introduction of its "Cheddar Explosion" variety of Kraft Dinner, Kraft sponsored the demolition of Texas Stadium on April 11, 2010. In its last act of 2009, the Irving, Texas city council made Kraft Macaroni and Cheese the official sponsor of the demolition. Kraft paid $75,000 to local charities and donated another $75,000 in Kraft products. A national essay contest directed at children who "have made a difference in their community" was held with the winner allowed to push the button initiating the controlled demolition.[41] The winning essayist was 11-year-old Casey Rogers of Terrell, Texas, founder of a charity serving the homeless.[42]
Gallery
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese preparation—pot of boiling water with pasta inside, package of cheese powder (labeled "Kraft cheese sauce mix"), and colander to separate the noodles from the cooking water
Kraft Dinner (with the KD label) is packaged with a processed cheese powder packet (Canada, 2018).
The American version of the cheese powder
Additional ingredients are needed for a "Classic Prep" of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese—milk, butter, and cheese powder—which are added to the noodles.
American Kraft Mac & Cheese served on a plate in Sweden, garnished with fresh spinach leaves
Macaroni is pasta shaped like narrow tubes. Made with durum wheat, macaroni is commonly cut in short lengths; curved macaroni may be referred to as elbow macaroni. Some home machines can make macaroni shapes but, like most pasta, macaroni is usually made commercially by large-scale extrusion. The curved shape is created by different speeds of extrusion on opposite sides of the pasta tube as it comes out of the machine.
Pasta is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was originally only made with durum, although the definition has been expanded to include alternatives for a gluten-free diet, such as rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils. Pasta is believed to have developed independently in Italy and is a staple food of Italian cuisine, with evidence of Etruscans making pasta as early as 400 BCE in Italy.
Macaroni and cheese is a dish of macaroni pasta and a cheese sauce, most commonly cheddar sauce.
Fettuccine Alfredo is a pasta dish consisting of fettuccine tossed with butter and Parmesan cheese, which melt and emulsify to form a rich cheese sauce coating the pasta. Originating in Rome in the early 20th century, the recipe is now popular in the United States and other countries. Outside of Italy, cream is sometimes used to thicken the sauce, and ingredients such as chicken, shrimp, salmon or broccoli may also be added when it is served as a main course.
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July 2, 2015.
Cheez Whiz is a brand of processed cheese sauce and spread produced by Kraft Foods. It was developed by a team led by food scientist Edwin Traisman (1915–2007). It was first sold in 1952, and, with some changes in formulation, continues to be in production today.
Pot Noodle is a brand of instant noodle snack foods from the United Kingdom, available in a selection of flavours and varieties. This dehydrated food consists of noodles, assorted dried vegetables and flavouring powder. It is prepared by adding boiling water, which rapidly softens the noodles and dissolves the powdered sauce.
Koshary, kushari or koshari is Egypt's national dish and a widely popular street food. It is a traditional Egyptian staple, mixing pasta, Egyptian fried rice, vermicelli and brown lentils, and topped with chickpeas, a garlicky tomato sauce, garlic vinegar, and crispy fried onions. Sprinklings of garlic vinegar and hot sauce are optional.
American cheese is a type of processed cheese made from cheddar, Colby, or similar cheeses, in conjunction with sodium citrate, which permits the cheese to be pasteurized without its components separating. It is mild with a creamy and salty flavor, has a medium-firm consistency, and has a low melting point. It is typically yellow or white in color; yellow American cheese is seasoned and colored with annatto.
Rice-A-Roni is a boxed food mix that consists of rice, vermicelli pasta, and seasonings. To prepare, the rice and pasta are browned in butter, then water and seasonings are added and simmered until absorbed. It is a product of Quaker Oats Company, a subsidiary of PepsiCo.
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants, serving around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries. McDonald's traces its origins to a 1940 restaurant in San Bernardino, California, United States. After expanding within the United States, McDonald's became an international corporation in 1967, when it opened a location in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. By the end of the 1970s, McDonald's restaurants existed in five of the Earth's seven continents; an African location came in 1992 in Casablanca, Morocco.
Macaroni cheese pie is a pie dish based on baked macaroni and cheese. Primary ingredients may include elbow macaroni, cheese, and milk.
Macaroni casserole is a dish of baked pasta. It is especially known as a staple in northern European home cooking. It is a dish of cooked macaroni and a mixture of egg and milk with additional ingredients like meats, vegetables or fish. It is commonly made with cheese or breadcrumbs sprinkled on top.
Looney Tunes Meals were a line of frozen dinners released by Tyson Foods in 1990. They were based on the characters from the eponymous Warner Bros. cartoons and targeted primarily at children. The meals were discontinued in late 1993 because of declining sales.
Velveeta Shells & Cheese is a shell pasta and cheese sauce food product that debuted in the United States in 1984, as part of the Velveeta brand products. Its ingredients, texture, and flavor are very similar to macaroni and cheese. The product is a shelf-stable food.
Cheddar sauce, cheddar cheese sauce, or cheese sauce is a traditional sauce used in English cooking. The sauce is based upon white sauce, which is known as one of the 'mother sauces', and cheddar cheese. It could be seen as an English equivalent of the French Mornay sauce. The sauce is made by adding an amount of cheddar cheese to white sauce and then spiced using English mustard, Worcestershire sauce and pepper among other ingredients.
Chili mac is a dish prepared using chili con carne and macaroni as primary ingredients, which is often topped or intermingled with cheese. Some versions are made using prepared or homemade macaroni and cheese. It is a common dish in the cuisine of the Midwestern United States, and is also popular in other areas of the United States.
Cheese sauce is a sauce made with cheese or processed cheese as a primary ingredient. Sometimes dried cheese or cheese powder is used. Several varieties exist and it has many various culinary uses. Mass-produced commercial cheese sauces are also made by various companies, in both liquid and dry forms. These prepared sauces are used by consumers and restaurants, and commercial formulations are used in the production of various prepared foods, such as macaroni and cheese mixes and frozen meals.
Lokshen mit kaese, (Yiddish: לאָקשן מיט קעז lokshn mit kez), also known as (Hebrew: איטריות וגבינה itriyot v’gvina), Jewish mac and cheese, lokshen with cheese, or Jewish egg noodles with cottage cheese, is an Ashkenazi Jewish dish popular in the Jewish diaspora particularly in the United States, consisting of lokshen, or Jewish egg noodles that are served with a cheese sauce typically made with cottage cheese and black pepper, and sometimes farmers cheese may be used in place of the cottage cheese, and sour cream, butter, caramelized onions, garlic, tomatoes, mint, currants, parmesan, and other ingredients may be added. Sometimes a sweet variety is made with cinnamon sugar. It has been compared to a deconstructed noodle kugel and is considered by many to be a Jewish comfort food.
1 2 Teens in Canada. Kitty Shea. Compass Point Books, 2008 pg. 30
1 2 3 4 Chapman, Sasha (September 2012). "Manufacturing Taste". The Walrus. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
↑ "FAQs". kraftmacandcheese.com. Kraft Foods. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015. You told us you wanted to incorporate more foods with protein, calcium and whole grains into your diets and with no artificial flavours, preservatives or synthetic colors
↑ Marie Allard (November 13, 2019). "À découvrir sur les rayons". La Presse (Montreal) (in French). Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
↑ Murphy, Rex (2010). Canada and Other Matters of Opinion. Random House of Canada. p.157.
↑ Coupland, Douglas (2004). Souvenir of Canada, Volume 1. Douglas & McIntyre.
↑ Robertson, Ed & Frohman, Lorne (Interviewer/Host) (2005). Distinguished Artists (TV Series). Toronto, Canada: Humber College School of Media Studies.
↑ "KD languish". John Gushue... Dot Dot Dot. Archived from the original on October 4, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
↑ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). "Chapter 4: Potassium: Dietary Reference Intakes for Adequacy". In Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). pp.120–121. doi:10.17226/25353. ISBN978-0-309-48834-1. PMID30844154. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
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