View source for Cheese puffs

{{short description|Puffed corn snack}}
{{About|the commercial extruded corn snack food|the [[choux pastry]] with cheese|gougère}}
{{Infobox food
| name             = Cheese puffs
| image            = Ostbager.jpg
| image_size       = 250px
| caption          = Cheese puffs in a bowl
| alternate_name   = Cheese curls, cheese balls, cheesy puffs, corn curls, corn cheese
| country          = [[United States]]
| region           = 
| creator          = 
| course           = 
| type             = [[Snack food]]
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = [[Puffed grain|Puffed corn]], [[cheese]] [[Flavoring#Flavorants or flavorings|flavoring]]
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}
'''Cheese puffs''', '''cheese curls''', '''cheese balls''', '''cheese ball puffs''', '''cheesy puffs''', or '''corn curls''' are a [[puffed grain|puffed]] [[maize|corn]] [[snack food|snack]], coated with a mixture of [[cheese]] or cheese-flavored [[Powder (substance)|powders]]. They are manufactured by [[Food extrusion|extruding]] heated corn [[dough]] through a [[Die (manufacturing)|die]] that forms the particular shape. They may be ball-shaped, curly ("cheese curls"), straight, or irregularly shaped. [[Puffcorn]] is a similar food, without cheese flavoring.

==History==
Cheese puffs were invented independently by two companies in the United States during the 1930s. 
According to one account, Edward Wilson noticed strings of puffed corn oozing from flaking machines in the mid 1930s at the Flakall Corporation of [[Beloit, Wisconsin]], a producer of flaked, partially cooked [[compound feed|animal feed]]. He experimented and developed it into a snack.<ref>''[[Atlas Obscura]]'': [https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-cheese-curl-junk-foods-happiest-accident A Brief History of the Cheese Curl] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180527201451/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-cheese-curl-junk-foods-happiest-accident |date=2018-05-27 }} Retrieved May 26, 2018</ref> Clarence J. Schwebke applied for an improved extruder patent in 1939<ref>{{US Patent|2,295,868}}</ref> and the product, named ''Korn Kurls'', was commercialized in 1946 by the Adams Corporation, formed by one of the founders of Flakall and his sons.<ref>{{cite book | last = Burtea | first = O | chapter = Snack Foods from Formers and High-Shear Extruders |veditors= Lusas EW, Rooney LW | title = Snack Foods Processing | year =2001 | isbn = 1-56676-932-9 | pages = 287 | publisher = Taylor & Francis }}</ref> Adams was later bought by [[Beatrice Foods]].

Another version was created by the [[Elmer Candy Corporation]] of [[New Orleans]], Louisiana in 1936. The sales manager Morel M. Elmer Sr. held a contest to name the new product "CheeWees". The trademark was lost when the candy company was sold in 1963, but the family's [[Elmer's Fine Foods]] continued to make the snack and repurchased the name in 1993.

==Notable brands==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Common brands of cheese puffs
! Brand
! Manufacturer
! Original country
! Year
|-
! [[Cheetos]]
| [[Frito-Lay]]
| U.S.
| 1948
|-
! [[Cheez Doodles]]
| [[Wise Foods]]
| U.S. (Northeastern)
| 1958
|-
! [[Cheezies]]
| [[W.T. Hawkins Ltd]]
| Canada
| 1948
|-
! [[Curl (Japanese snack)|Curl]]
| [[Meiji Seika|Meiji]]
| Japan
| 1968
|-
! [[Kurkure]]
| [[Pepsico India]]
| India
| 1999
|-
! [[NikNaks (South African snack)|NikNaks]]
| [[Simba Chips]]
| South Africa
| 1972
|-
! [[Pirate's Booty]]
| [[B&G Foods]]
| U.S.
| 1987
|-
! [[Twisties]]
| [[The Smith's Snackfood Company]]
| Australia
| 1950
|-
! [[Wotsits]]
| [[Walkers (snack foods)|Walkers]]
| United Kingdom
| 1970
|-
|}

==In popular culture==
A fictitious brand of cheese puffs called "Cheesy Poofs" has appeared periodically in the animated television series ''[[South Park]]''. The [[Frito-Lay]] company produced a limited, promotional run of the snack in August 2011.<ref>{{cite news |author=Stuart Elliott |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/business/media/campaign-marks-15th-season-of-south-park.html?_r=2 |title=Celebrating 'South Park' by Bringing It to Life |work=The New York Times |date=14 July 2011 |access-date=19 October 2011 |archive-date=2 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902114936/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/business/media/campaign-marks-15th-season-of-south-park.html?_r=2 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Puffed grain]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Cheese dishes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheese Puffs}}
[[Category:Cheese dishes]]
[[Category:American snack foods]]