Provel ( ) is a white
processed cheese prominent in
St. Louis cuisine. A combination of
cheddar,
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
,
provolone, and
liquid smoke,
Provel has a low melting point, a gooey texture, and a
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...
y flavor.
Provel cheese is the traditional cheese used for
St. Louis–style pizza. It is also used in pasta sauces,
cheese soup,
salad
A salad is a dish consisting of mixed ingredients, frequently vegetables. They are typically served chilled or at room temperature, though some can be served warm. Condiments called '' salad dressings'', which exist in a variety of flavors, a ...
s, and sandwiches such as the
Gerber sandwich.
Provel is rarely used or sold outside of St. Louis. Provel can be purchased at St. Louis-area grocery stores such as
Schnucks or
Dierbergs Markets, and
Hy-Vee grocery stores across the Midwest.
History
Provel was purportedly invented for St. Louis–style pizza in the 1940s by Costa Grocery (now Roma Grocery on
the Hill), in collaboration with
Hoffman Dairy of
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
(now part of
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...
), according to ''
St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' food writer Joe Bonwich. Provel was developed to meet demand for a
pizza cheese with a clean bite, melting well while breaking off nicely when cut or bitten.
founder Ed Imo claims credit for popularizing Provel through his chain.
Neither Kraft Foods nor Roma Grocery has a definitive answer for the origin of the name, although one popular theory is that it is a
portmanteau
In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together. of the words
provolone and
mozzarella
Mozzarella is a Types of cheese#Semi-soft cheese, semi-soft non-aged cheese prepared using the ('stretched-curd') method with origins from southern Italy.
It is prepared with cow's milk or buffalo milk, taking the following names:
* or mozz ...
, two of the cheeses for which it is substituted.
Trademark
The Provel name trademark was first used in 1947 and held by the Churny Company, Inc. of
Glenview, Illinois. Churny later became a wholly-owned
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...
of
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...
after it was closed in 2012.
In 2021,
Lactalis acquired Hoffman Dairy from Kraft. As of 2024, Lactalis holds the Provel name trademark, but does not appear to be using this name: Hoffman's Pizza Cheese is simply known as "2/5 LB St. Louis Style Pizza Cheese" in the Lactalis Culinary catalogue.
Distribution
Imo's Pizza acquired Costa's Grocery, which had the sole rights to sell Provel in St. Louis,
some time between 1964 and 1985.
Imo's continues to package and sell shredded Provel cheese to end customers, as of 2024.
See also
*
Processed cheese
*
Italian-American cuisine
*
Cuisine of St. Louis
References
External links
Churny Co. site(archived, 2 Mar 2021)
"Famous Gerber sandwich recognized", ''Riverfront Times'', 8 October 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Provel Cheese
American cheeses
Cuisine of St. Louis
Processed cheese