It's Gotta Be KD!
...which inevitably brings-up the two greatest unresolved arguments in Canadian history: What is the best way to make KD and Do you put ketchup on your KD?
A CANADIAN LOVE AFFAIR
Canada's love affair with Kraft Dinner began 85 years ago. Since it was first introduced in 1937, Kraft Dinner has become the most purchased grocery item in Canada. Canadians consume fully one quarter of Kraft's global production and about 55 percent more than Americans.
Officially "KD" in Canada since 2015, the iconic blue box has been a part of our lives for generations. Remember eating KD over the lunch hour watching the Flinstones, or having KD for supper (with weinies on the side) or KD as a college dorm delicacy?
"The way Canadians refer to Kraft Dinner as "KD" is as much a term of endearment as when you call a relative or a friend by a nickname," said KD's brand director Kristen Eyre. "It's such a love mark for them."
“We do a lot of research, and one thing we know is that the Canadian consumer has a vested interest in this brand,” says Jordan Fietje, senior brand manager for Kraft Dinner at Toronto-based Kraft Canada. “They have a real sense of ownership over it. They are the ones that called it KD — We didn’t coin that term."
As Sasha Chapman wrote in Kraft Dinner is Canada’s True National Dish, "KD is the ultimate nursery food, at least if you were born and raised in Canada...a tradition nearly as venerable as the fur trade."
The Barenaked Ladies' drew international attention to Canada's true national dish in their song "If I Had A Million Dollars":
“If I had a million dollars
We wouldn’t have to eat Kraft Dinner
But we would eat Kraft Dinner
Of course we would, we’d just eat more.”
And buy really expensive ketchups with it
Thats right all the fanciest Dijon ketchups
In Canada, It's gotta be KD!
THE KRAFT DINNER STORY
In 1930, during the Great Depression, Grant Leslie, a Missouri salesman from Scotland, sold macaroni pasta in cardboard boxes with baggies of grated Kraft cheese attached with a rubber band. Leslie sold a lot of boxes and bought a lot of cheese from Kraft. So...
...In 1937, Kraft introduced the product in the U.S. and Canada marketed as Kraft Dinner. Each box could "feed a family of four" for only 19 cents (US).
As Sasha Chapman wrote in Kraft Dinner is Canada’s True National Dish, "KD is the ultimate nursery food, at least if you were born and raised in Canada...a tradition nearly as venerable as the fur trade."
The Barenaked Ladies' drew international attention to Canada's true national dish in their song "If I Had A Million Dollars":
“If I had a million dollars
We wouldn’t have to eat Kraft Dinner
But we would eat Kraft Dinner
Of course we would, we’d just eat more.”
And buy really expensive ketchups with it
Thats right all the fanciest Dijon ketchups
In Canada, It's gotta be KD!
THE KRAFT DINNER STORY
In 1930, during the Great Depression, Grant Leslie, a Missouri salesman from Scotland, sold macaroni pasta in cardboard boxes with baggies of grated Kraft cheese attached with a rubber band. Leslie sold a lot of boxes and bought a lot of cheese from Kraft. So...
...In 1937, Kraft introduced the product in the U.S. and Canada marketed as Kraft Dinner. Each box could "feed a family of four" for only 19 cents (US).
Within two years, Canadian sales of Kraft Dinner reached $8 million - about $159 million today! ^ By the end of WW II, sales reached $14 million ($279 million in 2022).
"DID YOU KNOW" that...
▪︎ ... the first person to patent "processed cheese", the key ingredient in KD, was James Lewis (J. L.) Kraft - yup, "that" Kraft
▪︎ ... J. L. Kraft was born on December 11, 1874 near Stevensville, Ontario
▪︎ ... the Kraft family farm - located at Bowen Road & Winger Road in Stevensville - still exists.
▪︎ ... the original KD box was yellow but changed to blue in 1954
▪︎ ... KD is made with Canadian wheat and milk
SOURCES:
Kraft Canada
https://www.kraftcanada.ca/brands/kraft-dinner
Chapman, Sasha (April 14, 2020) "Kraft Dinner is Canada’s True National Dish", The Walrus
O'Neil, Lauren (July 30, 2015) CBC News,
https://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/kraft-dinner-officially-changes-its-name-to-kd-1.3174613
Kelly-Dockman, Lina (February 2, 2020)
https://foodhistory.opened.ca/kraft-dinner/
The Food Girl In Town (June 11, 2018) "The History of Kraft Dinner + a KD showdown"
https://thefoodgirlintown.com/2018/06/11/the-history-of-kraft-dinner/
Shaw, Hollie (March 23, 2012). "Catering to the Kraft Dinner cult". Financial Post
"DID YOU KNOW" that...
▪︎ ... the first person to patent "processed cheese", the key ingredient in KD, was James Lewis (J. L.) Kraft - yup, "that" Kraft
▪︎ ... J. L. Kraft was born on December 11, 1874 near Stevensville, Ontario
▪︎ ... the Kraft family farm - located at Bowen Road & Winger Road in Stevensville - still exists.
▪︎ ... the original KD box was yellow but changed to blue in 1954
▪︎ ... KD is made with Canadian wheat and milk
SOURCES:
Kraft Canada
https://www.kraftcanada.ca/brands/kraft-dinner
Chapman, Sasha (April 14, 2020) "Kraft Dinner is Canada’s True National Dish", The Walrus
O'Neil, Lauren (July 30, 2015) CBC News,
https://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/kraft-dinner-officially-changes-its-name-to-kd-1.3174613
Kelly-Dockman, Lina (February 2, 2020)
https://foodhistory.opened.ca/kraft-dinner/
The Food Girl In Town (June 11, 2018) "The History of Kraft Dinner + a KD showdown"
https://thefoodgirlintown.com/2018/06/11/the-history-of-kraft-dinner/
Shaw, Hollie (March 23, 2012). "Catering to the Kraft Dinner cult". Financial Post
https://financialpost.com/news/catering-to-the-kraft-dinner-cult
KD "is the most purchased grocery item" in Canada. Aug 25, 2016
https://www.businessinsider.in/13-incredible-facts-about-canada/articleshow/53860589.cms#
13 incredible facts about Canada | BusinessInsider India
^https://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=8000000&year=1939
KD "is the most purchased grocery item" in Canada. Aug 25, 2016
https://www.businessinsider.in/13-incredible-facts-about-canada/articleshow/53860589.cms#
13 incredible facts about Canada | BusinessInsider India
^https://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=8000000&year=1939
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