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Jun 2022
32m 44s

Mac and Cheese: From 'What's in these?' ...

American Public Media
About this episode

You might think macaroni and cheese is just a quick and easy meal, or a special dish that comes to the holiday table. But Joy and her co-host Buddy are here to tell you that macaroni and cheese is actually a pair of SUPERHEROES!

We’ll trace the history of the dish back to ancient Rome, through the Elizabethan Age, and all the way to America by way of James Hemings, an enslaved chef who cooked for Thomas Jefferson at Monticello.

The modern history of mac & cheese continues with the invention of powdered cheese. And you’ll get a chance to guess the historical order of shelf-stable foods including peanut butter, powdered milk, and instant ramen noodles. Spoons up!

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