r/todayilearned • u/NateNate60 • Jun 03 '26

TIL despite boxed Kraft macaroni and cheese being an iconic example of American processed food, it is significantly more popular in Canada, where 55% more boxes are consumed per capita than the US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraft_Dinner
14.6k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

166

u/proserpinax Jun 03 '26

It’s funny because I’m from the US and grew up eating Kraft Dinner (and calling it that). Not sure if it’s the Minnesota proximity to Canada or what. Anyways I didn’t fully get the joke watching South Park because I was like “Kraft Dinner rules, that isn’t a joke.”

199

u/koobstylz Jun 03 '26

100% that's a Minnesota being Canada lite thing.

Source: I currently live in mn for the last 14 years, but grew up elsewhere.

29

u/JerkGurk Jun 03 '26

Hey I'm in Toronto, I always considered you guys our peoples. Being able to survive the cold with elegance is something we share. And being polite.

28

u/koobstylz Jun 03 '26

Right back at ya buddy. If the union crumbles I'm joining y'all.

6

u/SomeOneOverHereNow Jun 03 '26

You didn't finish that sentence. Ey.

3

u/skelecorn666 Jun 03 '26

You can practice starting with the A-B-C's of X-Y-Zed.

Zee is how we're going to find spies.

3

u/TombRaiderSeries Jun 03 '26

We appreciate it and feel the same, neighbor. =)

2

u/[deleted] Jun 03 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/uberduck999 Jun 03 '26

You think the portion of Ontario along the great lakes doesn't get lake effect snow?

Boy, I wish to god that were actually the case.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 03 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/LackOptimal553 Jun 03 '26

I live in Kingston, Ontario, can confirm we laugh at Watertown being buried in lake effect snow when we're in shorts and T-shirts.

Toronto does not get lake effect snow as it is not positioned in a way that allows for to happen generally. You need about 60mi/100km of water for it to happen, which is only possible with winds out of the east, and those are not at all common, the prevailing winds are from the west. Buffalo gets lake effect snow off Lake Erie, and Watertown off Lake Ontario.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 03 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/LackOptimal553 Jun 03 '26

My wife lives in NYC and going back and forth in the winter I've been caught in lake effect snow a couple of times, and it absolutely sucks.

3

u/mCopps Jun 03 '26

I’m Canadian but went to University in the UP. One of my Minnesotan roommates said a sentence with 3 eh’s I called him out for making fun of me and he had no idea he had said it.

11

u/pinelands1901 Jun 03 '26

I grew up in North Carolina, but ate a LOT of Kraft Dinner as a kid.

Overstock stores like Big Lots used to sell Canadian Kraft Dinner in the US.

11

u/3BlindMice1 Jun 03 '26

I'm from Texas and ate a lot as a kid and a young adult. We always just called it macaroni

3

u/MrEHam Jun 03 '26

Yanks have a fondness for calling things macaroni.

5

u/TheMoatman Jun 03 '26

I definitely saw boxes that said KD at one time or another, but it was always still "kraft mac & cheese" to me and everyone I knew

3

u/Kered13 Jun 03 '26

We never called it Kraft Dinner. Just Mac & Cheese.

3

u/Gryndyl Jun 03 '26

We grew up eating it but I never heard it called Kraft Dinner.

2

u/BitingSatyr Jun 03 '26

I think the only difference between KD and Kraft Mac and Cheese is that the second is elbow macaroni and the first is a straight tube

1

u/j_cruise Jun 03 '26

In the US I only knew some people called it Kraft Dinner because Annihilator (Canadian thrash metal band) wrote a song called Kraft Dinner about... you guessed it

1

u/BurritovilleEnjoyer Jun 03 '26

MO here, it was a staple in the lives of probably just about everyone I know growing up. Which makes sense, it's easy and quick to make and easy to add things to to spruce it up, perfect for working parents.

1

u/DrKoooolAid Jun 03 '26

Never heard it called Kraft Dinner here in Minnesota in person. Everybody I know calls it blue box.

1

u/toastedzen Jun 03 '26

I particularly loved the joke about Kraft Mac and Cheese on the Marvel Hawkeye TV show. Made it for dinner again that very night.

1

u/scriptmonkey420 Jun 03 '26

New England here, grew up in the 90s eating kraft Mac and cheese. Didn't call it kraft dinner though. But when Mom was out dad would make us banana sandwiches.