Mac and Cheese Flavored Candy Canes

Archie McPhee, a Seattle-based company has made it possible for a comfort food to be available in a cheese-flavored candy cane in time for the 2018 holiday season. The canes have been met with mixed reviews.

Macaroni and cheese is affectionately shortened to just mac and cheese. The traditional dish has been described as comfort food in the United States and other countries.

The well-known dish is found in households around the country many times during the year and not just on holidays. Kids and adults love the food, and it is easy to prepare. The dish consists of only a few ingredients including cooked macaroni and a thick cheese sauce. Expert cooks use cheddar cheese and a mixture of other cheeses. It could also contain optional ingredients such as meat, vegetables, and breadcrumbs. Most people love it plain as well. It is on most tables as a side dish. However, some people could eat it as a meal without eating anything else along with it.

It is known that the side dish is high in fat, calories, and salt. It is still considered a comfort food because most people feel good after eating it. Adults fell in love with it as a child, and they have carried that good feeling into adulthood. Kids love the flavor of the food, and most of them don't have to be forced to eat it. For that reason, it is on the kids' menu in restaurants.

Archie McPhee is owned by Mark Pahlow. The company started out in the 1970s in Los Angeles as a mail-order business by the name of Accoutrements. In 1983, a retail outlet began and it was named Archie McPhee after Pahlow's wife's great-uncle. The company moved to Seatle in June 2009.

Archie McPhee sells unique products that cannot be found in other places. Some people describe them as being weird such as rubber chickens and bacon-scented air freshener. In 2005, Time listed the company as one of the coolest websites with items to be sold.

Some people on social media know about the company's goal of coming up with unusual products. They say they will try the mac and cheese candy canes when they become available. Many other people think coming up with that type of candy cane is disgusting.

Those who oppose the invention say the comfort of sucking on a cane is not the same as eating the real dish. Therefore, they have decided to stick to the tried and true form of being comforted. One person on Instagram said the mac and cheese candy canes cross the line and not the same as what the dish represents.

JunkFoodMom with an Instagram account of more than 30,000 followers posted that the candy smells just like cheese and tastes like mac and cheese. Even though the sweetness overpowers the flavor, the product is a good replica of the real side dish.

Archie McPhee has been bold enough to come up with other flavors. The company also has rotisserie chicken, coal, bacon, and clam flavored canes.

In the past, there have been other unusual products such as dill pickle mints, gravy candy, and bacon gumballs.

While some people say they are not interested in the mac and cheese candy canes, they are extremely popular. Therefore, customers can order only one box that costs $5.95.

Included in the box are six yellow and white canes that are 5-1/4" tall with cheesy flavoring. Since macaroni and cheese has become a holiday family tradition, Archie McPhee believes its product will be a tremendous hit during the upcoming holiday season.