Macaroni & Cheese from 1845

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one thing i think most people across the globe and across histories can agree on is the fact that the combination of bread based carbs and dairy products is the most elite of elite food combos.

I love any recipe that includes “in the usual way.” Sometimes it is just boiling a thing, but sometimes they’re actually pretty complicated procedures like a hollandaise or soft poaching an egg or a making a custard. And the instructions are just “eh, you know.”

J.L. Kraft was a generous and honorable man. The story of how he saved a competitor, Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, from bankruptcy is a video all in and of itself. And it was not something Pabst forgot when it was able to return the generous favor.

It's so wild that something as basic as Pasta was so alien to people back then that he assumed it was Onions.

The fact that the original Kraft ad managed to rhyme wheeze with breeze rather than cheese is delightfully unexpected 😂

Laughed so hard at “can feed a family of four, or a Max of one” 😂 I do not understand how four people could eat one box as an entire meal! Lol

Macaroni and Cheese being described as gastronomy's power couple is just golden.

So glad you give Townsends the love they deserve!

The "particularly strong liquor" mentioned by Manassah Cutler might be a reference to the cheese sauce. "Liquor" in old English can also mean sauce, as in pie, mash, and liquor (which you can still order using those words in London today). Historically liquor more specifically describes the liquid in which the food is cooked, which makes perfect sense with mac and cheese.

"'Enough for a family of four,' or a Max of one" I FELT THAT

In the immortal words of the Barenaked Ladies: “If I had a million dollars We wouldn't have to eat Kraft dinner But we would eat Kraft dinner Of course we would we'd just eat more!”

Please, PLEASE do an episode on James Hemmings. I'd love to see that. Enslaved people's contribution to American food history is so often overlooked, despite how important their part was.

A very popular dish in Switzerland is "Älplermagronen", translating to alpine macaroni. It includes not only pasta and cheese, but also potatoes, onions and lots of cream. One of my favorite dishes!

Hey Max, I was reading about the oldest natural/bog mummies that we know of, like Otzi the Iceman, the Tollund Man, and the Lindow Man. With each of their wiki articles it said that scientific examination was able to determine their last meals. Maybe an idea for a video? They are as follows: Otzi: Fat and meat from Ibex and Red Deer (which may have been dried/smoked), and Einkorn wheat, along with herbs and some kind of dairy product. Tollund Man: Porridge or gruel made from both wild and cultivated seeds. Over 40 kind of seeds were present, but the main ones were barley, flax, false flax, and knotgrass. Lindow Man: Slightly charred bread made from cereal grains Otzi's meal seems like It'd be the most interesting topic for a video.

Mac and cheese is my comfort food. It is almost always good and it’s really simple to make. I’m also autistic, so it really helps to have a semi-consistent menu item to fall back on when I’m with people who want to try some more experimental dishes. Basically anywhere that has pasta dishes can make a mac and cheese, which is great for someone with a sensitive palate like myself.

Southern mac and cheese is often baked with a full breadcrumb topping. I have a feeling you would definitely like it

In switzerland, there is actually a dish very similar to mac and cheese called "Älplermagronen" (alpine herdsman Macaroni), which sometimes also has meat in it. It originated as a calorie dense meal that the alpine herdsman could make while in the mountains in summer with their herds, as dried maccaronis kept well and cream and cheese was both something they made themselves. Edit: as someone suggested and I forgot for some reason: the recipe also contains potatos, another well preserving carb. It is today regarded as a national dish, especially in rhe german speaking part.

The Kraft company did a co-branding promotion with the inventor of the radio back in the old days. Within a large block of processed cheese, you'd find a working radio set. They called the promotion Marconi and Cheese.

Speaking of ready made pasta I would love to see you do a video on the history of the real Chef Ettore Boiardi who is behind Chef Boyardee if you haven't yet. His story and what he achieved is really fascinating from what little I have read of it. I also wanted to say thank you so much for making such interesting videos. I get chronic migraines and I love watching your videos to cheer myself up when I'm stuck in bed, I especially appreciate Jose doing the subtitles!