The cookbook was the most influential cookbook of the 19th century, according to culinary historian Karen Hess. Randolph's recipe had three ingredients: macaroni, cheese, and butter, layered together and baked in a hot oven.

Nevertheless, since that time, baked macaroni and cheese has remained popular in the United States.Ī recipe called 'macaroni and cheese' appeared in the 1824 cookbook The Virginia Housewife written by Mary Randolph. The menu of the dinner was reported by Reverend Manasseh Cutler, who apparently was not fond of the cheesy macaroni casserole. In 1802, Jefferson served 'a pie called macaroni' at a state dinner. Evidently, the machine was not suitable, as Jefferson later imported both macaroni and Parmesan cheese for his use at Monticello. In 1793, he commissioned the US ambassador to France William Short to purchase a machine for making it. Jefferson drew a sketch of the pasta and wrote detailed notes on the extrusion process. The US president Thomas Jefferson and James Hemings, his slave, encountered macaroni in Paris and brought the recipe back to Monticello. In the United Kingdom, during the 2010s, it has seen a surge in popularity, becoming widespread as a meal and as a side order in both fast food and upmarket restaurants. The macaroni, (which should be 'tender but perfectly firm, no part being allowed to melt, and the form entirely preserved' – lest one be tempted to cook it for so long it actually disintegrated) is then topped with more cheese, pepper, and breadcrumbs, before receiving a final dose of melted butter for good measure and being placed before a 'bright fire' to brown the crumbs, or grilled with a salamander broiler. Beeton's Book of Household Management included two instances of 'Macaroni, as usually served with the Cheese Course'. The famous British Victorian cookbook Mrs. Heavy cream is then added to the macaroni along with a 'knob of butter' rolled in flour, and it must be cooked for five minutes before being transferred to a dish and topped with toasted Parmesan and pepper. Boil four Ounces of Macaroni ’till it be quite tender, and lay it on a Sieve to drain, then put it in a Tolling Pan, with about a Gill of good Cream, a Lump of Butter rolled in Flour, boil it five Minutes, pour it on a Plate, lay all over it Permasent Cheese toasted send it to the Table on a Water Plate, for it soon goes cold.Īnother recipe from 1784 stated that the small tubes of macaroni must be boiled, then drained in a sifter before being moved to a frying pan. Raffald's recipe is for a Béchamel sauce with cheddar cheese-a Mornay sauce in French cooking-which is mixed with macaroni, sprinkled with Parmesan, and baked until bubbly and golden. The first modern recipe for macaroni and cheese was included in Elizabeth Raffald's 1769 book, The Experienced English Housekeeper. take cheese and grate it and add it and cast butter beneath and above as with losyns, and serve forth. Cast them in boiling water and seethe them well. Make a thin foil of dough and carve it in pieces. This is the above recipe in modern English: take cheese and grate it and butter cast bynethen and above as losyns. and kerve it on pieces, and cast hem on boiling water & seeþ it well. The recipe given (in Middle English) was: It was made with fresh, hand-cut pasta which was sandwiched between a mixture of melted butter and cheese. A cheese and pasta casserole known as makerouns was recorded in the 14th-century medieval English cookbook, the Forme of Cury. Pasta and cheese casseroles were recorded in the 14th century in the Italian cookbook, Liber de Coquina, which featured a dish of Parmesan and pasta.

Melting cheese for macaroni and cheese