View source for Velveeta

{{Short description|Pasteurized prepared cheese product by Kraft}}
{{Distinguish|Belvita}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox brand
| name           = Velveeta 
| logo           = Velveeta 2021.png
| logo_size      = 200
| image          = Velveeta_Cheese.JPG
| image_size     = 200
| caption        = 
| producttype    = [[Processed cheese]] 
| currentowner   = [[Kraft Heinz]]
| producedby     = [[Kraft Foods]]
| country        = [[United States]] 
| introduced     = {{start date and age|1918}}
| discontinued   = 
| related        = 
| markets        = United States, Canada
| previousowners = {{plainlist|
* The Velveeta Cheese Company (1918–1927)
* [[Kraft Foods Inc.]] (1927–2012)
}}
| trademarkregistrations = 
| tagline        = That's La Dolce Velveeta
| website        = {{url|https://www.kraftheinz.com/velveeta|kraftheinz.com/velveeta}}
| module         = <!-- or: misc -->
| module1        = <!-- or: misc1 -->
}}
'''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.<ref>"New Incorporations," ''New York Times'', 15 February 1923 (10,000 preferred shares, 20,000 common shares).</ref> In 1925, it advertised two varieties, Swiss and American.<ref>"Everybody Says It's the Finest Cheese in the World (Velveeta/Monroe advertisement)." ''Goshen (NY) Independent Republican'', 9 June 1925.</ref> The firm was purchased by [[Kraft Foods Inc.]] in 1927.<ref>"Monroe." ''Middletown (NY) Times Herald'', 21 November 1927 ("recently purchased").</ref>

== History ==
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.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Geiling|first1=Natasha|title=There is No Shortage of History When it Comes to Velveeta|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/there-is-no-shortage-history-when-it-comes-velveeta-180949312|website=smithsonianmag.com|publisher=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian Magazine]]|access-date=October 18, 2014}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Monroe historical society |url=https://www.monroehistoryny.org/cheese-in-monroe |website=Monroe historical society |access-date=9 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hudson Valley Magazine |date=March 19, 2013 |url=https://hvmag.com/food/where-does-velveeta-and-liederkranz-cheese-come-from-monroe-ny-of-course/ |access-date=9 February 2024}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Velveeta Brand History">[https://web.archive.org/web/20081220173959/http://brands.kraftfoods.com/Velveeta/VelveetaFlashHistory Velveeta Brand History], Accessed December 23, 2010.</ref> It was reformulated in 1953 as a "[[cheese spread]]";<ref name="Velveeta Brand History"/> however, as of 2002, Velveeta is labeled in the United States as a "pasteurized prepared cheese product".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/68222/14-cheesy-facts-about-velveeta|title=14 Cheesy Facts About Velveeta|date=April 6, 2016|access-date=November 8, 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Tunick2013">{{cite book|author=Michael H. Tunick|title=The Science of Cheese|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zco8BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA161|date=November 27, 2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-992231-4|pages=161–}}</ref>

==Ingredients==
{{Infobox Cheese
| name = Nutritional info
| image = 
| othernames =Pasteurized Recipe Cheese Product  
| country = 
| regiontown = <!-- Region, town -->
| region = 
| town =  
| source = [[Cow]]<!-- Source of milk -->
| texture = Soft and creamy<!-- Texture -->
| fat = 21%
| protein = 18%
| dimensions = 
| weight = 
| aging = 
| certification = <!-- Certification [[protected designation of origin|PDO]] [[1992]] -->
}}
Kraft Foods lists Velveeta's ingredients as: [[milk]], [[rapeseed oil|canola oil]], [[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]], [[enzyme]]s, [[apocarotenal]], [[annatto]], and [[cheese culture]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kraftrecipes.com/products/velveeta-2-pasteurized-prepared-2229.aspx|title=Products|access-date=September 3, 2018|archive-date=September 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903082227/http://www.kraftrecipes.com/products/velveeta-2-pasteurized-prepared-2229.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Classification as a pasteurized prepared cheese product ==
In 2002, the [[FDA]] issued a [[FDA warning letter|warning letter]] to Kraft that Velveeta was being sold with packaging that falsely described it as a "pasteurized process cheese spread",<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110818233733/https://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2002/ucm145363.htm WARNING LETTER CHI-6-03], U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Kraft Foods North America, Inc. December 18, 2002. Accessed February 9, 2010.</ref> 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",<ref name="chicagobusinessnews">[http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=23741 "What Is 'Real Kraft Cheese'?"], ''Chicago Business'', February 5, 2007. Accessed February 3, 2008.</ref> a term not defined by the FDA.

== Marketing and advertising ==

Kraft Foods has marketed Velveeta as an ingredient for [[chile con queso]] and grilled [[cheese sandwich]]es.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kraftrecipes.com/velveeta/famous-queso-dip-51301.aspx|title=Kraft Foods|access-date=December 1, 2016|archive-date=October 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005180455/http://www.kraftrecipes.com/velveeta/famous-queso-dip-51301.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kraftrecipes.com/velveeta/grilled-cheese-apples-bacon-115790.aspx|title=Kraft Foods|access-date=December 1, 2016|archive-date=October 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002020036/http://www.kraftrecipes.com/velveeta/grilled-cheese-apples-bacon-115790.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.ciao.de/Velveta_Scheibletten_Toast__769203 | title = Ciao! price comparison site | access-date = April 4, 2010}}</ref> 

In the 1980s, Velveeta used the advertising jingle, "[[Colby cheese|Colby]], [[Swiss cheese (North America)|Swiss]] and [[Cheddar cheese|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.<ref>{{cite web | url =https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecoBoeyjoL4#t=07s | title = Velveeta Cheese Spread (YouTube) | website = [[YouTube]] | date = January 17, 2011 | access-date = January 6, 2012 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Velveeta Shells & Cheese]]
* [[Convenience food]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{official website}}
* [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/there-is-no-shortage-history-when-it-comes-velveeta-180949312/?no-ist Smithsonian.com: There is No Shortage of History When it Comes to Velveeta]

{{Kraft Foods Group}}
{{Processed cheese}}
{{American cheeses}}

[[Category:Products introduced in 1918]]
[[Category:Kraft Foods brands]]
[[Category:Processed cheeses from the United States]]
[[Category:Monroe, New York]]