The cabinet at my mother-in-law’s house is a treasure chest of old and expired food items but I doubt she’s the owner of a Mac & Cheese dinner as old as her her kids.
This bro was given a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese produced when Nixon was still in the Oval Office. Tricky Dick, in his grave, probably smells better than the opened package of cheese processing. According to the CerealPort, he instantly regretted unboxing the three decades old dinner. Here’s his comment about the experiment on Reddit.
I opened it. See album for pictures. I particularly love the “Here’s delicious” on the cheese packet. I however instantly regret opening the cheese packet. It doesn’t smell right away so of course I took a whiff. The smell is like Kraft dinner cheese mixed with sour milk, it is very unpleasant! I am glad I didn’t send it to someone to eat – knowing how that smells I’m sure it doesn’t taste any better!!!
No doubt that the makers of the Mac & Cheese didn’t expect it to last until 2014, especially since all of the chemicals and additives weren’t available to create a Frankenstein dinner back in the day. Here’s a crazy side-by-side comparison of the ingredients in a Kraft Mac & Cheese dinner in 1974, compared to what goes into the crap now.
The ingredients 40 years ago: Kraft cheddar cheese, skim milk powder, whey powder, salt, sodium phosphate, color,lactic acid, macaroni.
The ingredients in a modern day kraft mac n cheese according to /u/camdoodlebop :
Enriched Macaroni Product (, Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate [Iron], Thiamin Hydrochloride [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid) Cheese Sauce Mix (,Whey, Milkfat, Milk Protein Concentrate, Salt, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, contains 2% or less of: , Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Sodium Phosphate, Calcium Phosphate, Milk, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Enzymes, Cheese Culture).
Mmmmmmmm ferrous sulfate. Just like mom used to make.
H/T Reddit