Product type | Processed cheese |
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Owner | Kraft Heinz |
Produced by | Kraft Foods |
Country | United States |
Introduced | 1918 |
Markets | United States, Canada |
Previous owners |
|
Tagline | That's La Dolce Velveeta |
Website | kraftheinz.com/velveeta |
Velveeta is a brand name for a processed cheese similar to American cheese. It was invented in 1918 by Emil Frey (1867-1951) of the Monroe Cheese Company in Monroe, New York. In 1923, The Velveeta Cheese Company was incorporated as a separate company. [1] In 1925, it advertised two varieties, Swiss and American. [2] The firm was purchased by Kraft Foods Inc. in 1927. [3] Unlike Kraft Singles, which is real cheese, Velveeta does not count as real cheese due to reasons detailed below.
In 1888, the new owners of the Monroe Cheese Co., Adolphe Tode and Ferdinand Wolfe, hired former Neuesswanders Cheese Factory’s cheesemaker Emil Frey. While they would see success with one of Frey’s creations, Liederkranz cheese, they still ultimately fell into financial problems resulting in the foreclosure of the property. In 1891, Jacob Weisl purchased the company from the Goshen Savings Bank. Weisl set up a second factory in Covington, Pennsylvania, that made mostly Swiss cheese. He would have the broken pieces of cheese sent up to Monroe hoping to find a way to prevent the waste. It was during this time that Frey began taking broken pieces of cheese back to his house where he spent two years working on a process to make use of them. In 1918 he had his breakthrough, mixing cheese byproducts with the broken cheese bits to form a cheese blend that would become known as Velveeta. The name Velveeta was intended to connote a "velvety smooth" product. [4]
On February 14, 1923, Frey incorporated a separate Velveeta company independent from the Monroe Cheese Co. In 1926, the Monroe Cheese company closed down and one year later Velveeta was sold to Kraft. [5] [6] The brand has since been expanded into a line of products including cheesy bites, macaroni and cheese, and cheesy skillets.
In the 1930s, Velveeta became the first cheese product to gain the American Medical Association's seal of approval. [7] It was reformulated in 1953 as a "cheese spread", [7] but as of 2002, Velveeta is labeled in the United States as a "pasteurized prepared cheese product". [8] [9]
Nutritional info | |
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Other names | Pasteurized Recipe Cheese Product |
Source of milk | Cow |
Texture | Soft and creamy |
Fat content | 21% |
Protein content | 18% |
Kraft Foods lists Velveeta's ingredients as: milk, water, whey, milk protein concentrate, milkfat, whey protein concentrate, sodium phosphate, and 2% or less of salt, calcium phosphate, lactic acid, sorbic acid, sodium citrate, sodium alginate, enzymes, apocarotenal, annatto, and cheese culture. [10]
In 2002, the FDA issued a warning letter to Kraft that Velveeta was being sold with packaging that falsely described it as a "pasteurized process cheese spread", [11] The product listed milk protein concentrate (MPC) in its ingredients, which meant it no longer fit any of the FDA's cheese-related definitions. Velveeta is now sold in the US as a "pasteurized prepared cheese product", [12] a term not defined by the FDA.
Kraft Foods has marketed Velveeta as an ingredient for chile con queso and grilled cheese sandwiches. [13] [14] It is sold in the United States, Canada, Panama, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and South Korea. In the 1930s and 1940s, it was sold in the United Kingdom and Germany as "Velveta". [15]
In the 1980s, Velveeta used the advertising jingle, "Colby, Swiss and Cheddar, blended all together" in its US television commercials to explain its taste and texture because real cheese was used in the product at that time. [16]
Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard cheese, like cheddar or Swiss cheese. Acid whey is a byproduct brought out during the making of acid types of dairy products, such as strained yogurt.
Cottage cheese is a curdled milk product with a mild flavour and a creamy, heterogeneous, soupy texture, made from skimmed milk. An essential step in the manufacturing process distinguishing cottage cheese from other fresh cheeses is the addition of a "dressing" to the curd grains, usually cream, which is mainly responsible for the taste of the product. Cottage cheese is not aged.
Curd is obtained by coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet, a culture, or any edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar, and then allowing it to coagulate. The increased acidity causes the milk proteins (casein) to tangle into solid masses, or curds. Milk that has been left to sour will also naturally produce curds, and sour milk cheeses are produced this way.
Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in Western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most modern buttermilk in Western countries is cultured separately. It is common in warm climates where unrefrigerated milk sours quickly.
Kraft Dinner in Canada, Kraft Mac & Cheese in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, Mac and Cheese in the United Kingdom and internationally, is a nonperishable, packaged macaroni and cheese mix. It is made by Kraft Foods Group and traditionally cardboard-boxed with dried macaroni pasta and a packet of processed cheese powder. It was introduced under the Kraft Dinner name simultaneously in both Canada and the U.S. in 1937. The brand is particularly popular with Canadians, who consume 55% more boxes per capita than Americans.
Processed cheese is a product made from cheese mixed with an emulsifying agent. Additional ingredients, such as vegetable oils, unfermented dairy ingredients, salt, food coloring, or sugar may be included. As a result, many flavors, colors, and textures of processed cheese exist. Processed cheese typically contains around 50 to 60% cheese and 40 to 50% other ingredients.
Cream cheese is a soft, usually mild-tasting fresh cheese made from milk and cream. Cream cheese is not naturally matured and is meant to be consumed fresh, so it differs from other soft cheeses such as Brie and Neufchâtel. It is more comparable in taste, texture, and production methods to Boursin and mascarpone. Stabilizers such as carob bean gum and carrageenan are often added in industrial production.
Cheez Whiz is a brand of processed cheese sauce and spread produced by Kraft Foods. It was developed by a team led by food scientist Edwin Traisman (1915–2007). It was first sold in 1952, and, with some changes in formulation, continues to be in production today.
Provel is a white processed cheese prominent in St. Louis cuisine. A combination of cheddar, Swiss, provolone, and liquid smoke, Provel has a low melting point and a gooey texture and buttery flavor.
Liederkranz is an American re-creation of Limburger cheese, made subtly different by the use of a different bacterial culture for smear-ripening. Liederkranz is a cow's milk cheese, with an edible pale yellow-orange tan crust, and a semisoft, pale interior with a mildly pungent flavor and distinct aroma that could become unpleasantly ammonia-like if aged incorrectly.
Kraft Singles is a brand of processed cheese product manufactured and sold by Kraft Heinz. Introduced in 1950, the individually wrapped "slices" are not really slices off a block, but formed separately in manufacturing.
Whey protein is a mixture of proteins isolated from whey, the liquid material created as a by-product of cheese production. The proteins consist of α-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin, serum albumin and immunoglobulins. Glycomacropeptide also makes up the third largest component but is not a protein. Whey protein is commonly marketed as a protein supplement, and various health claims have been attributed to it. A review published in 2010 in the European Food Safety Authority Journal concluded that the provided literature did not adequately support the proposed claims.
Simplesse is a multi-functional dairy ingredient made from whey protein concentrate used as a fat substitute in low-calorie foods. Originally brought to market in 1988, the manufacturer, CP Kelco, sells Simplesse to food processors as a "microparticulated whey protein concentrate" in dry powder form, and recommends that it be labelled as dairy protein on food labels. Older versions of the product also contain egg whites.
American cheese is a type of processed cheese made from cheddar, Colby, or similar cheeses, in conjunction with sodium citrate, which permits the cheese to be pasteurized without its components separating. It is mild with a creamy and salty flavor, has a medium-firm consistency, and has a low melting point. It is typically yellow or white in color; yellow American cheese is seasoned and colored with annatto.
Easy Cheese is the trademark for a processed cheese spread product distributed by Mondelēz International. It is also commonly referred to by generic terms such as "spray cheese", "squirt cheese", "cheese in a can", and/or "cheese cans". Easy Cheese is packaged in a metal can filled with air covered with a plastic cap that reveals a straight, flexible nozzle where the cheese is extruded.
Granular cheese, also known as stirred curd cheese and hard cheese, is a type of cheese produced by repeatedly stirring and draining a mixture of curd and whey. It can refer to a wide variety of cheeses, including the grana cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano and various others.
Milk protein concentrate (MPC) is any type of concentrated milk product that contains 40–90% milk protein. The United States officially defines MPC as "any complete milk protein concentrate that is 40 percent or more protein by weight." In addition to ultrafiltered milk products, the MPC classification includes concentrates made through other processes, such as blending nonfat dry milk with highly concentrated proteins, such as casein.
Velveeta Shells & Cheese is a shell pasta and cheese sauce food product that debuted in the United States in 1984, as part of the Velveeta brand products. Its ingredients, texture, and flavor are very similar to macaroni and cheese. The product is a shelf-stable food.
Sour cream is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, which is introduced either deliberately or naturally, sours and thickens the cream. Its name comes from the production of lactic acid by bacterial fermentation, which is called souring. Crème fraîche is one type of sour cream with a high fat content and less sour taste.
Perfect Day, Inc. is a food technology startup company based in Berkeley, California, that has developed processes of creating whey protein by fermentation in microbiota, specifically from fungi in bioreactors, instead of extraction from bovine milk.