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Today on Weird History Food we are looking at a truly remarkable culinary invention, Cheez Whiz!!! Perhaps you have some in your fridge right now! In the long and storied history of Cheese, this one is a wist NOBODY saw coming. What even IS this liquid gold? A Dip? A spread? a meal all on is own?
Grab some if you got some and enjoy this telling of how it all began.
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Today, we're going to take a look at what's actually in Cheez Whiz
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Debuting on supermarket shelves way back in 1952, Cheez Whiz has long been popular in America
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and is now a common topping for snack staples like hot dogs, french fries, corn chips, and pretzels
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While Cheez Whiz did once contain a good amount of real cheese, that was a really long time ago
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Craft officials insist cheese is still the primary ingredient in Cheez Whiz
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but they won't say how much is in there. And cheese doesn't actually appear on the ingredients list
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although Kraft insists that all of the component ingredients that make up cheese are included
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So what does appear on the list? Things like milk, canola oil, maltodextrin, sodium phosphate, salt, lactic acid, mustard flour
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and, among other things, Worcestershire sauce. Cheese culture is included on the label
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but that's just a bacteria that plays a key role in the cheese-making process
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and not something you'd want to put on a footlong. The main ingredient in Cheez Whiz is actually whey, which is the liquid that cheese curds release during the cheese making process
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But it's just in the recipe to give Cheez Whiz its consistency
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The truth is, Cheez Whiz is mostly oil, salty flavorings, preservatives, and chemicals to control its color, thickness, and texture
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But long story short, Cheez Whiz technically doesn't contain any real cheese at all
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It contains processed cheese. Despite being only technically partially cheese processed cheese has a number of upsides For one its shelf life is a whole lot longer than cheese made by conventional methods Processed cheese also has meltability which means it doesn separate when it cooked
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and heating doesn't alter its taste or texture. As a result, it can be used in a vast array of recipes that simply wouldn't work with unprocessed cheese
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It's also much, much cheaper to make, at a much larger scale, at a far faster pace
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Those savings are largely passed on to consumers, who are typically charged a lot less for a hunk of processed cheese than for one made by conventional methods
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And consumers don't seem to mind. The history of Cheez Whiz actually begins with James L. Kraft
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And in 1950, they would introduce their now-trademark pre-sliced American cheese slices
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under the name Kraft Deluxe Processed Slices, later to be renamed Kraft Singles
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Kraft Singles were a massive success, and it was James Kraft's desire to further cash in on that success that led to the development of Cheez Whiz
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After he saw how Welsh singles did in the U.S., Kraft set his eyes on the British market
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and the British were known to enjoy a snack called a Welsh rarebit
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Welsh rarebit is actually just a slice of toast with melted cheddar on it
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And because snacking and doing as little as possible go hand in hand, Kraft figured Brits would appreciate an imitation rarebit cheese sauce they didn't have to melt themselves
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To that end, the company assigned one Edward Traisman to lead the team that would develop Cheese Whiz
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It made its debut in 1952, and the British absolutely loved it
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It was such a hit, Kraft decided to bring it to America the following year. And the rest, as they say, is whiz-story
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