So did Thomas Jefferson invent macaroni and cheese? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

strelnik · #1 07-03-2010, 03:49 PM

Different accounts in honor of the man on 03 July 2010

According to more than one urban legend, macaroni and cheese was invented by Thomas Jefferson, who, in the variant told by Alton Brown of Good Eats, upon failing to receive an Italian pasta-making machine, designed his own machine, made the macaroni, and had the cook put liberal quantities of York cheddar and bake it as a casserole.

Macaroni was a highly fashionable food in late eighteenth-century Paris, and Jefferson not only enjoyed the dish but also commissioned William Short to purchase a machine for making it. The machine was later shipped to America. Jefferson also investigated the manufacture of macaroni during his trip to northern Italy and drew a sketch with detailed notes on the extrusion process. When Short was in Italy, he sampled the local product and concluded that the cooks of Paris made better pasta than he could get at Naples. Apparently, the macaroni machine that Short bought was either not durable or unsatisfactory, for in later years Jefferson imported macaroni and Parmesan cheese from Marseilles for his use at Monticello. While in France, he also copied a recipe for making macaroni ("Nouilly a maccaroni") without a machine.

Macaroni and cheese was invented in 1492 by Christopher Columbus. It so impressed Queen Isabella of Spain that she convinced King Ferdinand to bankroll Colombus' Westward expeditions. When Colombus failed to establish a macaroni and cheese route to the far East, the royal couple was down-hearted, dazed and despondent, and was forced to eat pork rinds instead. Admiral Colombus, however, eschewed pork rinds for onion rings, which were in fact, invented by Thomas Jefferson some 300 years later. True story

Macaroni and cheese, like fish sticks, are actually a product of the near distant future that were brought back by time travelers to 17th century Europe. In the historic document, Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure, this startling puzzle piece was omitted. No wonder the film was taken as a piece of fiction, with such inacuracy and bad music. Fortunately, the second film had much better music, but it was indeed a work of fiction.

#2 07-03-2010, 03:58 PM

LOL, Jefferson was a very large fan of all things French, and euro in general. I have read of him bringing a macaroni machine home and showing it off at his dinner parties.

tbomachines · #3 07-03-2010, 04:26 PM

I will buy kraft mac and cheese simply because of this line in the commercial:

"GADZOOKS!! That is hot!!"

strelnik · #4 07-03-2010, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbomachines

I will buy kraft mac and cheese simply because of this line in the commercial:

"GADZOOKS!! That is hot!!"

I think thje line is " Gadzooks! These handles are hot" not the mac and cheese, lol.

Txjake · #5 07-03-2010, 06:16 PM

I know what is for dinner tonight: Mac n cheese with fish sticks....thanks I did not know what I wanted to eat.

strelnik · #6 07-03-2010, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Txjake

I know what is for dinner tonight: Mac n cheese with fish sticks....thanks I did not know what I wanted to eat.

put some hot sauce on them fish sticks

aklim · #7 07-03-2010, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbomachines

I will buy kraft mac and cheese simply because of this line in the commercial:

"GADZOOKS!! That is hot!!"

I thought it was Kraft Cheese and Macaroni because it is the cheesiest?

Stoneseller · #8 07-03-2010, 07:28 PM

Does anyone actually like that pastie stuff in the blue box. Gawd, it's awful.

Since66 · #9 07-03-2010, 08:21 PM

Interesting hypothesis, but it doesn't address the "Feather in his hat" phenomenon.

strelnik · #10 07-03-2010, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Since66

Interesting hypothesis, but it doesn't address the "Feather in his hat" phenomenon.

That's Yankee Doodle. not Thomas the J

tbomachines · #11 07-04-2010, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strelnik

I think thje line is " Gadzooks! These handles are hot" not the mac and cheese, lol.

I stand corrected, but still major points for the best interjection use in recent times

#12 07-04-2010, 12:17 AM

I always thought that an interjection was something the doctor gave you if you developed a rash.

tonkovich · #13 07-04-2010, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strelnik

That's Yankee Doodle. not Thomas the J

yankee doodle was one of thomas jefferson's aliases. or was that mark twain? actually, i've never seen the three of them together. nor superman, clark kent and bruce wayne. all six of them might be the same person? who knew?

strelnik · #14 07-04-2010, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonkovich

yankee doodle was one of thomas jefferson's aliases. or was that mark twain? actually, i've never seen the three of them together. nor superman, clark kent and bruce wayne. all six of them might be the same person? who knew?

Here's the 411 on YD from wikipedia:

The first verse and refrain, as often sung today, runs:
Yankee Doodle went to town,
A-riding on a pony;
He stuck a feather in his hat,
And called it macaroni.

The song's origin is unclear.[2] Traditions place its origin in a pre-Revolutionary War song originally by British military officers to mock the disheveled, disorganized colonial "Yankees" with whom they served in the French and Indian War. It is believed that the tune comes from the nursery rhyme Lucy Locket. One version of the Yankee Doodle lyrics is "generally attributed" to Doctor Richard Shuckburgh,[3] a British Army surgeon. According to one story, Shuckburgh wrote the song after seeing the appearance of Colonial troops under Colonel Thomas Fitch, Jr., the son of Connecticut Governor Thomas Fitch.[2]
Etymology

As a term Doodle first appeared in the early seventeenth century,[4] and is thought to derive from the Low German dudel or dödel, meaning "fool" or "simpleton". The Macaroni wig was an extreme fashion in the 1770s and became contemporary slang for foppishness.[5] The implication of the verse was therefore probably that the Yankees were so unsophisticated that they thought simply sticking a feather in a cap would make them the height of fashion.[6]

TheDon · #15 07-04-2010, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stoneseller

Does anyone actually like that pastie stuff in the blue box. Gawd, it's awful.

I do, and velveta and shells..