Cheesecakes often have a cheddar cheese flavor.
Cheesecakes are a popular treat made from puffed corn and topped with a layer of seasoned powdered cheese. They are available under many different brand names and come in a variety of styles including round, corkscrew, freeform, and straight. The most common flavor for cheese balls is cheddar, but there are other flavors as well to add spice and variety.
Cornmeal and water are used to make cheesecakes.
Cheesecakes were discovered by accident in the 1930s by a man named Edward Wilson. He was working on a flake machine at the Flakall Company, making corn flakes to feed cattle. Workers poured wet corn into the bucket to prevent the machine from clogging up. Wilson noticed that the moist ground corn came out in long strips, cooked by the heat of the mat. He took some of these puffed corn chunks home, added a little flavor to them, and with that, created the first little cheese balls.
Some cheesecakes are made with white cheddar cheese that has not been colored with annatto or other spices.
In the early 1950s, the Adams Corporation mass-produced cheese buns, then called Korn Kurls, for sale in the snack market. Many other companies followed, with varying degrees of success. Companies have experimented with extruding corn into different dies to create snacks of different shapes and sizes.
The main ingredients of cheesecakes remain the same as when they were created: cornmeal and water. Different sprays are used to add texture and flavor, and to hold the coatings together. These sprays include cottonseed oil, soybean oil, and coconut oil. Any batch will typically only have one of these oils sprayed on.
Once the puffs are pulverized, they are covered in powdered cheese to add the unique cheese flavor. This flavoring can include powdered cheddar cheese, artificial cheese flavoring, powdered buttermilk, salt and other spices, as well as food coloring to give cheesecakes their characteristic orange color. Manufacturers looking for ways to increase their sales of this crunchy snack have created many different types of cheesecakes by adding additional flavorings and cooking them in different ways.
Cheesecakes can be purchased in a wide variety of flavors, in addition to the familiar orange cheddar cheese. Options, which vary by manufacturer, include white cheddar, Asiago pepper, chili, jalapeno, hot sauce, hot cheese and more. In addition to being made in different shapes and flavors, they are also marketed in roasted and fried versions, which have very different textures. With so many different options, it could take a long time for a fan of these cheesy snacks to try them all.