 | |
| Product type | Pasta and cheese |
|---|---|
| Owner | Kraft Heinz |
| Produced by | Kraft Foods |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 1984 [1] [2] |
| Related brands | Kraft Dinner |
| Website | kraftheinz.com/velveeta |
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. [1] [2] Its ingredients, texture, and flavor are very similar to macaroni and cheese. The product is a shelf-stable food. [3]
The product is prepared in original style, 2% milk style and in chipotle and jalapeño flavors. [4] The product prepared with 2% milk in the cheese sauce contains 50% less fat compared to the original product. The flavored varieties are packaged with separate packets, one with flavoring and one with the cheese sauce. [4] The jalapeño-flavored product has been described as being significantly spicy in flavor. [4] The chipotle-flavored product has been described as strong in flavor, per the chipotle, Mexican seasonings and cumin in the product. [4] The flavored varieties have the word "bold" on the packaging in all capitalized, bold lettering. [4] A large-shelled version, mini-shelled version, rotini spiral pasta version, a whole grain version, and a bacon version are also produced. A variant containing “mild peppers and picante sauce” labeled as Touch of Mexico was sold alongside the bacon variant as early as 1991, but is no longer available as of February 2020.
Velveeta Shells & Cheese is a shell pasta product prepared with enriched wheat flour and a milk-based cheese sauce. Additional primary ingredients in the cheese sauce include whey, water, whey protein concentrate and milk protein concentrate. The product contains under two percent of lactic acid, sodium alginate, sorbic acid, oleoresin, and other ingredients. [5]
| Nutritional value per 4 oz. | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 360 kcal (1,500 kJ) |
46g | |
13g | |
15g | |
Source: [6] | |
| †Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, [7] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies. [8] | |
Per a single serving of the original product, Velveeta Shells & Cheese has 360 calories, 117 calories from fat, 13g total fat, 8g saturated fat, 30g cholesterol, 960 mg sodium, 46g total carbohydrate, 2g fiber and 15g protein. [6]
Kraft Foods introduced Velveeta cheese products in 1927 after acquiring the brand from The Velveeta Cheese Company. Kraft headquarters was previously located in Northfield, Illinois. Kraft Foods were made at around 160 manufacturing facilities around the world. Kraft Foods and Heinz merged in early July 2015, forming the new company The Kraft Heinz Company. [9]
As of January 2016, Velveeta Shells & Cheese is still marketed on a Kraft website. [10] On the Kraft Foods website, multiple recipes and cooking ideas for Velveeta Shells & Cheese are also posted. [10]
Prior to the corporate merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz, Kraft also marketed Velveeta Shells & Cheese through multiple television commercials and magazine advertisements. In March 2015, the product continued to be advertised on television in the United States, with statements referring to the product as "liquid gold." [11]
Velveeta Shells & Cheese is mass-produced and packaged in individual, single serving packages, [12] in boxes and in family size packages. [6]
In 2012, Kraft Foods received some questions from Consumer Reports about the packaging style for single-serving Velveeta Shells & Cheese, whereby the container is not full of product, and after the product is prepared, not much food is present relative to the size of the packaging. [13] A video denoting the Consumer Reports query showed a container that was only around half full after the single-serving container was cooked in a microwave oven. [13] A news report about the matter stated, "once you're done making it, look how little food is actually inside," in reference to the single-serving container. [13] Consumer Reports has referred to this type of packaging as a "packaging gotcha," via the downsizing of product volumes. [13] The news report stated that such types packaging is "deceptive", and implied that this is a tactic to mislead consumers into thinking they're getting more food than actually exists in the package. [13] The company responded stating that it "leaves room for water in the Velveeta Shells n' Cheese and that noodles expand." [13]
The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures a couple thousand food products in plants on six continents, and markets these products in more than 200 countries and territories. The company claims to have 150 number-one or number-two brands worldwide. Heinz ranked first in ketchup in the US with a market share in excess of 50%; the Ore-Ida label held 46% of the frozen potato sector in 2003.
Pasta is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was traditionally only made with durum, although the definition has been expanded to include alternatives for a gluten-free diet, such as rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils. While Asian noodles are believed to have originated in China, pasta is believed to have independently originated in Italy and is a staple food of Italian cuisine, with evidence of Etruscans making pasta as early as 400 BCE in Italy.
KD 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 product. 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.
Macaroni and cheese is a dish of macaroni and a cheese sauce, most commonly cheddar sauce.
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.
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July 2, 2015.
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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. In 1925, it advertised two varieties, Swiss and American. The firm was purchased by Kraft Foods Inc. in 1927.
Cool Whip is an American brand of whipped topping manufactured by Kraft Heinz. It is used in North America as a topping for desserts, and in some no-bake pie recipes as a convenience food or ingredient that does not require physical whipping and can maintain its texture without melting over time.
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.
Wheat Thins is a brand of baked whole grain snack food crackers distributed in the United States and Canada by Mondelez International. The product is also available in Australia through wholesaler USA Foods. Vegetable Thins, Oat Thins, Pita Thins, and Rice Thins, which are all spinoffs of Wheat Thins, are available in Canada and some regions of the United States. Wheat Thins themselves come in many flavors and varieties. Nabisco first introduced the product in 1947.
Kraft Foods Inc. was a multinational confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It marketed many brands in more than 170 countries. Twelve of its brands annually earned more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, and Tang. Forty of its brands were at least a century old.
Borden, Inc., was an American producer of food and beverage products, consumer products, and industrial products. At one time, the company was the largest U.S. producer of dairy and pasta products. Its food division, Borden Foods, was based in Columbus, Ohio, and focused primarily on pasta and pasta sauces, bakery products, snacks, processed cheese, jams and jellies, and ice cream. It was best known for its Borden Ice Cream, Meadow Gold milk, Creamette pasta, and Borden Condensed Milk brands. Its consumer products and industrial segment marketed wallpaper, adhesives, plastics and resins. By 1993, sales of food products accounted for 67 percent of its revenue. It was also known for its Elmer's and Krazy Glue brands.
Clam dip is a dipping sauce and condiment prepared with clams, sour cream or cream cheese, and seasonings as primary ingredients. Various additional ingredients can be used. It is usually served chilled, although it is sometimes served hot or at room temperature. It is used as a dip for potato chips, crackers, bread, and crudités. Commercial varieties of clam dip are mass-produced by some companies and marketed to consumers in grocery stores and supermarkets.
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.
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The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), commonly known as Kraft Heinz, is an American multinational food company formed by the merger of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz Company co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Kraft Heinz is the third-largest food and beverage company in North America and the fifth-largest in the world with over $26.0 billion in annual sales as of 2021.
Cheese sauce is a sauce made with cheese or processed cheese as a primary ingredient. Sometimes dried cheese or cheese powder is used. Several varieties exist and it has many various culinary uses. Mass-produced commercial cheese sauces are also made by various companies, in both liquid and dry forms. These prepared sauces are used by consumers and restaurants, and commercial formulations are used in the production of various prepared foods, such as macaroni and cheese mixes and frozen meals.
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