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Food and Snacks Invention Related to Pacific Asia War: Part 4 - The U.S. Military and the Invention of Cheetos

3/25/2019

1 Comment

 
by Nickii Wantakan Arcado
Food and Snacks Invention Related to Pacific Asia War: Part 4 - The U.S. Military and the Invention of Cheetos
The early 1900s marked a breakthrough in how the world produced and consumed cheese. Emulsifying salts, invented by Walter Gerber and Fritz Stettler, was a type of chemical that disperses water-phobic caseins through the exchange of sodium for calcium.
(continued) This would then allow smaller particles to diffuse and suspend in liquid. While that entire sentence might have been a bit scientifically worded, in basic terms, the emulsifying salt allows you to control the property and textural component of whatever it is you mix it with. Traditionally, this was used in cheese. Melting cheese with emulsifying salts would create a cheese-like product that was homogenous. The cheese would then be able to withstand extremely high temperature and had an extended shelf life compared to their basic counter-party. This was the first creation of processed cheese. What was even more impressive, was that this processed product was capable of being made and sold at an incredibly low price, as one could simply use leftover bits from cheese wheels or other machinery. Both Gerber and Stettler would never guess their idea of process cheese would become as influential as it is today. (Have you seen how many products have process cheese in them?)
Food and Snacks Invention Related to Pacific Asia War: Part 4 - The U.S. Military and the Invention of Cheetos
This technology soon was soon adopted by food companies in the U.S. In one instance, the U.S. military purchased over 25 million quarter pounds of white cheese tins from the company. Some historian credit this purchase for the rise of Kraft’s eventual dominance in the processed food industry to this day. By the onslaught of the Second World War, all branches of the United States military consisted of cheese; cheese on toast, cheese sauce for vegetables and potatoes, and cheese toppings for pasta.
Food and Snacks Invention Related to Pacific Asia War: Part 4 - The U.S. Military and the Invention of Cheetos
Food and Snacks Invention Related to Pacific Asia War: Part 4 - The U.S. Military and the Invention of Cheetos
However, the U.S. military during this time also sought to find new ways to create and package meal kits for soldiers. This led to military funding for research in shipping and cheese storage. The research was pioneered by the Quartermaster Corps’ Subsistence Research Laboratory, who focused their attention on dehydration and compression. To do this, scientist removed heavy water and reduced the volume of cheese within a serving of whatever product they were testing on. Under USDA dairy scientist, George Sander’s direction, the cheese was then dehydrated via drying chambers, pounded into bricks and then eventually fine dust. This was the creation of cheese powder.
Food and Snacks Invention Related to Pacific Asia War: Part 4 - The U.S. Military and the Invention of Cheetos
Food and Snacks Invention Related to Pacific Asia War: Part 4 - The U.S. Military and the Invention of Cheetos
Food and Snacks Invention Related to Pacific Asia War: Part 4 - The U.S. Military and the Invention of Cheetos
By the end of the war, the Quartermaster Corps not only had warehouses full of food, but their distribution center was still churning out goods for troop members. As a sudden withdrawal of wartime contracts with food companies might have drastic economic effects, the government decided to create a temporary federal agency—the Surplus Property Administration—that sold off Quartermaster Corps food at bargain-basement prices. 
The agency first started with the dairy business as they had an excess of powdered cheese that was flexible enough to be used by itself or for flavoring. Not only was the shelf life of this newly created product extremely attractive to food corporations, but a new trend of ‘snack foods’ were also beginning to hit the market. Indeed, in 1948, the Frito Company (Frito-Lay in 1961) debuted the U.S.’s first cheesy snack food, using the cheese powder purchased through the U.S. military. Created by Charles Doolin by extruding cornmeal and water, puffing, firing, then coating the merely finished stick with the dehydrated cheese, he created one of the country’s most beloved cheese snacks; Cheetos!
Food and Snacks Invention Related to Pacific Asia War: Part 4 - The U.S. Military and the Invention of Cheetos
Food and Snacks Invention Related to Pacific Asia War: Part 4 - The U.S. Military and the Invention of Cheetos
In 1986, the Cheetos current mascot, Chester Cheetah was created by art director and designer Brad Morgan. While he took creative control on the mascot’s commercials, Stephen Kane wrote the original scripts which consisted of the cool, sly, mascot using slogans that include "It ain't easy bein' cheesy", "The cheese that goes crunch!",  and the current slogan, "Dangerously cheesy!".  Check out the Cheetos diss track (video) to the Dorito’s Superbowl ad below.
In 1986, the Cheetos current mascot, Chester Cheetah was created by art director and designer Brad Morgan.
In 1986, the Cheetos current mascot, Chester Cheetah was created by art director and designer Brad Morgan.
Today, the snack comes in a variety of flavors and shapes, including Flaming Hot, Chipotle Ranch, Cheeto Puffs, White Cheddar, and so much more. (This editor’s favorite snack of all time has to be the XXTra Flaming Hot Crunchy Cheetos for sure).  ​
Today, the snack comes in a variety of flavors and shapes, including Flaming Hot, Chipotle Ranch, Cheeto Puffs, White Cheddar, and so much more.
Today, the snack comes in a variety of flavors and shapes, including Flaming Hot, Chipotle Ranch, Cheeto Puffs, White Cheddar, and so much more.
In addition, as the snack is sold in more than 36 countries, flavor, shape, and composition have been adjusted to fit the region’s cultural preferences. Take for example Taiwan’s Seaweed Cheetos, Canada’s Ketchup, and who could forget the Strawberry Cheetos in Japan.
Today, the snack comes in a variety of flavors and shapes, including Flaming Hot, Chipotle Ranch, Cheeto Puffs, White Cheddar, and so much more.
Today, the snack comes in a variety of flavors and shapes, including Flaming Hot, Chipotle Ranch, Cheeto Puffs, White Cheddar, and so much more.
Today, the snack comes in a variety of flavors and shapes, including Flaming Hot, Chipotle Ranch, Cheeto Puffs, White Cheddar, and so much more.

Curious about other foods invented during WW2? Check out this post! 

References
  1. De Salcedo, Anastacia Marx. Combat-Ready Kitchen: How the US Military Shapes the Way You Eat. Penguin, 2015.
  2. Surprise! You Have the US Military to Thank for Cheetos ... The Kitchn, 18 Aug. 2015, www.thekitchn.com/surprise-you-have-the-us-military-to-thank-for-cheetos-222852.
  3. So Delicious. “The US Military Is Apparently Behind The Invention Of The Cheeto.” The US Military Is Apparently Behind The Invention Of The Cheeto, Foodbeast, 18 Jan. 2019, www.foodbeast.com/news/invention-of-cheetos/.
  4. "Strawberry Flavored Cheetos Seduce Sweet-Loving Snackers". inventorspot.com.
  5. Salcedo, Anastacia Marx de. “How the US Military Helped Invent Cheetos.” Wired, Conde Nast, 22 Nov. 2017, www.wired.com/2015/08/us-military-helped-invent-cheetos/.
  6. Hamilton, Alissa. "World war II's mobilization of the science of food acceptability: How ration palatability became a military research priority." Ecology of food and nutrition 42.4-5 (2003): 325-356.

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Read and Learn More!

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1 Comment
Kris link
11/30/2020 08:47:17 pm

I love this information you shared with us. I am waiting for your next post. Keep it up. What a great idea! thanks. :)

Reply



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        • Duties of Unit 731
        • Human Experimentation
        • [GRAPHIC] Germ Warfare Attacks
        • Cover Ups After the War
        • [OLD] Cover Ups After the War
      • Philippines' Resistance - Guide >
        • Philippines World War II Timeline
        • The Japanese Invasion & Conquest of the Philippines
        • Bataan Death March
        • Formation of Underground Philippines Resistance
        • Supplies of the Guerrilla Fighters
        • The Hukbalahap
        • Hunter's ROTC
        • Marking's Guerrillas
        • United States Army Forces in the Philippines of Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL)
        • The Aetas
        • Chinese and Filipino-Chinese Nationalist Guerrilla Units
        • The Female Faces of the Philippine Guerrillas
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        • The Fierce Heneralas and Kumanders of the Hukbalahap Guerrillas
        • Amazons of the Pacific Theater
        • Filipina American Veterans: Recovering the Extraordinary Feats of the Ordinary Pinays
        • The Legacy of the Asian Women Soldier
      • Fall of Singapore - Guide >
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        • History of World War II in the Pacific
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        • Japan's Conquest in Asia
        • Japan's Invasion of the Malay Peninsula
        • Sook Ching Massacre
        • Double Tenth Incident
        • Social Changes and Challenges in Singapore
        • Voices from Syonan
        • Return to British Rule
      • Three Years and Eight Months - Guide >
        • Hong Kong before WW2
        • Buildup to World War 2
        • The Battle of Hong Kong
        • Life during 3 Years and 8 Months
        • East River Column Guerrilla Fighters
        • Prisoners of War Camps
        • End of Japanese Occupation
        • War Crimes Trials
      • Siamese Sovereignty - Guide >
        • The Land of Smiles
        • The Thai-Japanese Relationship
        • Phibun’s Domestic and International Policies
        • The Free Thai Resistance Movement
        • Post WW2 Aftermath of Thailand
      • The Khabarovsk War Crimes Trial - Guide >
        • Defendants of Khabarovsk War Crime
        • The Japanese Empire and USSR in WW2
        • The Employment of the Bacteriological Weapon in the War
        • Planning of Japan invasion to USSR
      • Unit 731 Cover-up : The Operation Paperclip of the East - Guide >
        • Establishing Manchukuo
        • The Development of Unit 731
        • Plan Kantokuen and Bacteriological Warfare
        • The Downfall of the Japanese WW2 Era
        • Three Stages of Interrogations
        • Lasting Impacts
      • Marutas of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • How did Ishii Shiro start unit 731?
        • A Beta Testing Site
        • Establishing Pingfan
        • Experiences at the Human Experimentation Complex
        • Vivisection at the Unit 731
        • Anta Testing Grounds
        • Overall Advance from the Laboratory Creations
        • The End of the War
      • Prince Konoe Memoir - Guide >
        • Who is Prince Konoe?
        • Preparation to Tripartite Pact
        • Emperor Hirohito and Prince Konoe
        • The End of Prince Konoe
      • Competing Empires in Burma - Guide >
        • What was the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • When did the China-Burma-India Theater Happen?
        • Who Fought in the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • The Second Sino Japanese War
        • Japan in the South
        • Operation U-Go
      • Battle of Shanghai - Guide >
        • The Battle of Shanghai. Background
        • Shanghai Before War
        • The First Battle of Shanghai 1932
        • Battle of Shanghai 1937
        • Aftermath of Battle for Shanghai
      • Ishi Shiro - Guide >
        • History of Biological Weapons and The Young Ishii Shiro
        • Establishment in Manchuria
        • Pingfang District - Harbin
        • Failures and Corruption
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      • Taiwan The Israel of the East - Guide >
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        • Industrialization of Japan
        • China During WWII
        • Taiwan under Kuomintang
        • New Taiwanese National Identity
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        • Introduction of Wang Xuan
        • Colonel Memorandum
        • The Beginning of Biological Warfare
        • The Bacteriological Warfare on China
        • Victims in Zhejiang’s Testimonies
        • After the War
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        • The French Colonial Period
        • Anti-Colonial Resistance
        • The Rise of the Communist Movement
        • Imperial Japan’s Entry into Indochina
        • The Portents of Famine
        • The Famine (1944-45)
        • Legacy of the 1944-45 Vietnam Famine
      • Clash of Empires - Guide >
        • Japan’s Imperialist Origins
        • Japan’s Competition against the West: Nanshin-ron and Hokushin-ron
        • Japanese Imperialism Through the Lens of French Indochina
        • The U.S.-Japan Relations and the Pearl Harbor Attack
      • Hunger for Power and Self-SufficiencyI - Guide >
        • The Influence of War Rations on Post-War Culinary Transformations
        • How World War II Complicated Food Scarcity and Invention
        • American Military Innovations
        • Government-Sponsored Food Inventions in Europe during World War II
        • Feeding the Army: The Adaptation of Japanese Military Cuisine and Its Impact on the Philippines
        • Mixed Dishes: Culinary Innovations Driven by Necessity and Food Scarcity
    • Lesson Plans >
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      • Ethics in Science
      • Writing the Narrative of a Pinay Fighter
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      • Seeking Justice: A Humanities Lesson Plan
      • The Hukbalahap
      • Trading Immunity
      • Bataan Death March
      • Biochemical Warfare Development
Contribute