| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 9:20:35 AM | I am curious about how and why Kraft Mac and Cheese Dinner is associated with being a "Canadian thing". I mean, it has been popular here in the states too for a long time and kids especially love it, but what is Canadian about it and why does it have a special place in the hearts of Canadians? I know the BNL make reference to it in "If I had a Million Dollars" , but that is the only thing I have ever heard linking Kraft Dinner with Canada. I was at a Jackets game last month and a Vancouver fan was wearing a "kraft dinner, eh" T-shirt and asked him about it..said it was just something they liked. I need to know WHY?!
Oh and we do have Tim Hortons here in the USA..especially here in Columbus we have several. Not as many as in Ontario, but we have them. | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 12:38:55 PM | It might be because Kraft is a Canadian company and the stuff is stupid cheap.
I did some work for Kraft once and found out their corporate motto is "a Kraft product at every meal". I cashed the check and never bought anything from Kraft again - which is hard, their fingers are everywhere. They bought up and closed down all the little cheese factories that used to be around here. There's only a couple left now and you still have to be careful -Kraft owns a couple but run them under the original name, cept, see, the cheese is awful now.
I've never understood why people think that crap-in-a-box is better than just making it from scratch. | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 1:17:14 PM | Terrance and Philip love Kraft Dinner!
The Barenaked Ladies also sing about it....
Mayhap it's the media at play yet again? (twilight zone music) | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 2:02:44 PM | I practically grew up on it as a kid but as an adult I don't and won't have it -- longhorn style colby makes the best mac n cheese in my opinion.
Before now I never heard of it being associated with any country. I, too, am leaning towards despising kraft for other reasons. Namely all the people who claim MIRACLE WHIP is such a great mayonaise when it's not a mayonaisse at all -- hellmans is lightyears better but I rarely keep that on hand either, except for summertime. I made my last batch of tuna sandwiches with sour cream. They were out of this world! | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 2:32:38 PM | i always think of it as being typically american... it's too mushy to play street hockey with, that's for sure
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 2:39:10 PM |
Cause my kids won't eat the home made stuff.
Mine either. That's what blows my mind. You can use real ingredients and they they just won't touch it. "It just doesn't taste right" they say. If if you use "cheese power" from the bulk food store, some ghastly orange crap, they'll eat it but say it's not as good as KD. And they'll only eat the original KD, none of the variants, like the white cheese variety, it has to be the original one.
People like what they're used to I guess. | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 3:31:21 PM | I did not know it was associated with Canada either. My son loved the 25 cent a box stuff best. I am glad he grew out of that. Growing up I had either homemade or frozen (Gorton's?) But many folks think melted Velveeta is cheese sauce too. 
Not sure how Tom Horton's got into a mac and cheese thread but I had to look it up and sure enough there isn't one within a thousand miles of me. 
Kraft actually does make a mayonaise product but it still does not compete in taste with the Best Foods/Hellmans brand. | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 4:33:12 PM | when i lived in canada my ex almost lived on the kraft dinners, i started eating them as well, eventually; but i didn't think they were anything special, but i can see why kids love 'em and can see students living off them
as for tim hortons thats one thing i do miss  | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 4:40:44 PM | I was under the impression part of it was that it's only called "Kraft Dinner" in Canada, and in the states it became just Macaroni & Cheese (or did they change it to "Cheese & Macaroni"? I vaguely remember commercials about that from years ago)
I dunno I haven't eaten the stuff in years and years - I switched to the PC White Cheddar macaroni, which I think tastes quite a bit better (sacrilege! I know!), but I haven't eaten that now in a long time either.
Hmm... I wonder if there's any in the back of the cupboard somewhere, I'm feeling nostalgically hungry... 
Kraft actually does make a mayonaise product but it still does not compete in taste with the Best Foods/Hellmans brand Woah now, don't be putting down Miracle Whip! It makes my sandwiches happy!  | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 5:57:13 PM | I grew up loving Kraft mac-n-cheese which p**ssed my grandmother off royally because I wouldn't touch her homemade stuff. To a little kid it just looked gross. I ate it through high school, just about lived on it in college (couldn't take the generic knockoffs) and have pretty much abandoned it since. interestingly enough i went back to college for a year in college. I don't think I touched it once.
BTW, Kraft mayo rocks and is light years ahead of Hellman's (yuck). | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 8:02:51 PM |
Woah now, don't be putting down Miracle Whip! It makes my sandwiches happy!
See, most people don't even know the difference!
Miracle Whip is watered down, cheaper stuff, with more vinegar added. Also garlic and onion powder, maybe even a smidge of mustard to give it some color so it actually resembles a food product. | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 8:19:59 PM | KD!!! Lived off of it for a while and when my kids were little ones the loved it - I had to draw pictures on it for them in ketchup. I think Kraft Dinner
Miracle Whip is gross  | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 9:19:26 PM | Contrary to what someone said earlier, Kraft is not a Canadian company, although it was founded by a Canadian. But that doesn't explain why Canadians eat more KD than any other country (on a per capita basis).
I'm not a big fan of the stuff, personally. If I'm going to eat something with so little nutritional value (and so many calories), it will have to taste a hell of a lot better than KD. | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 9:45:05 PM | The yellow-orange colour in KD comes from tartrazine, a coal tar derivative (hence the "tar" in its name). This stuff has been banned in the past by some countries in Europe such as Austria, Norway, and Finland. A study has been done by Rowe at Department of Pediatrics, University of Melbourne, Royal Children's Hospital, Victoria, Australia showing a link between this stuff and hyperactivity and OCD in children.
Think about that the next time you watch your kids shovel it in. At least wean them off it and use the white cheese version instead. | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 10:34:05 PM | Kraft is a company. A food manufacturer.
Just our way of saying Mac n Cheese.
The product was originally marketed as Kraft Dinner, but is now known in the United States and other countries as Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. In the United Kingdom it is marketed as Cheesey Pasta, while in Canada it has retained its original name of Kraft | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/6/2008 11:03:16 PM | Who can tell what Kraft is today? They're headquartered in Zurich and and the worlds second largest "processed foods" company. The way they've advertised in the past in Canada you'd think they were Canadian, but you're quite right they're not. They're an amalgam of a bunch of companies merged over the years (none of who make anything that's any damn good for you :-) into a global multinational. So you now they have your best interests at heart.
Oh boy, processed cheese. Yum.
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/about/HistoryofKraft.htm
http://inventors.about.com/od/foodrelatedinventions/a/kraft_foods.htm | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/11/2008 4:49:41 PM |
tartrazine
AH....HAAAAA!
Kraft figured out how to shut down the nural transmitters that send the "this is bad for you" signals to a childs brain.
At the same time it sends the subliminal message.....MORE...MORE
Two for the price of one!
IT'S A CONSPIR......(damn....I just ran out of tinfoil)
_____________________
It's sure in a lot of food and non-food products.....
Confectionery, soft drinks, instant puddings, flavored chips (Doritos, Nachos, etc), cereals (corn flakes, muesli, etc.), cake mixes, pastries, custard powder, soups (particularly instant or "cube" soups), sauces, some rices (like paella, risotto, etc.), kool-aid, ice cream, ice lollies, candy, chewing gum, marzipan, jam, jelly, gelatins, marmalade, mustard, horseradish, yogurt, noodles, pickles and other pickled products, certain brands of fruit squash, fruit cordial, chips, tim tams, and many convenience foods together with glycerin, lemon and honey products.
[edit] Non-food products
Soaps, cosmetics, shampoos and other hair products, moisturizers, crayons and stamp dyes.
[edit] Medications
Vitamins, antacids, medicinal capsules and certain prescription drugs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartrazine | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/12/2008 9:47:16 PM | | I know it's been said time and time again, but Kraft Dinner rocks...Kraft Dinner with fishsticks (Cpt Highliner?) and Green Giant canned green beans...mmmmm...mom was such a fantastic cook!!! lmao | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/13/2008 1:03:17 PM | My autistic nephew loves Kraft mac & cheese. Mom makes the mac & cheese and adds sour cream and chopped chicken hot dogs to it. May sound odd, but it's really good with the sour cream!
WW | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/13/2008 1:21:54 PM | | I know Nova Scotians love KD. After I bought my home my neighbor mentioned she was making it for supper---and I couldn't imagine why. They weren't in college or poor. For me--it was something you kept on the shelf for kids or for when you were just lazy--or more often--when you were broke and it was a last resort. I soon found out it was a staple for many. Heck, they even preferred it to homemade with real sharp cheddar cheese. Imagine that!!! I keep trying to love it though. Kids like it--and they say kids and dogs are a good judge of character--so it has to have something going for it. | |
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| Kraft dinner and Canadian culture?
Posted: 2/15/2008 4:43:44 PM | oh God canadians are so chezzy sometimes.
In Ontario theres a Tim hortons every block or two, in my neighbourhood its overkill a gas station will have its own tim hortons and then across the street there will be its own free standing Tim Hortons.
Not that I'm complaining, I dont think I can go a day without a large french vanilla or english toffee. Mmmmmm english toffeee. I'm gonna go get one right now! | |
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