How Cattle Feed Led To The Creation Of Cheese Puffs

Believe it or not, the first living beings to consume something that resembled cheese puffs (without the powdered cheese) were cows. The Flakall Corporation — which produced animal feed in Wisconsin in the early 1930s — developed a process for producing corn feed that resulted in reduced loss during production. Essentially, it involved grinding corn kernels into small grains that were easy for the cows to digest. Occasionally, the production team put wet corn into the grinder to clean the machinery. The corn reacted with the heat of the machine and created puffed-up pieces as it came out.

One intrigued Flakall worker by the name of Edward Wilson pocketed some of these corn puffs, took them home, seasoned them with salt and cheese, and sampled them. Needless to say, the experiment was a success, to the point where the company turned away from animal feed production completely to produce what Wilson had called Korn Kurls. After that first puffy corn treat came a number of snacks from other brands that people love, including Cheetos, Cheez Balls, Pirate's Booty, and more. But a few tweaks still had to be made before the snacks became what we know today.

Those first experimental corn puffs probably didn't taste like modern corn snacks. That's not because they lacked the addition of processed cheese, but mostly due to differences in texture. Puffed corn snacks are made from a batter consisting of cornmeal and water. As the batter moves through the machinery, heat and pressure are applied, creating the puffs' unique shape and texture (similar to a rice cake). We presume that the original corn puffs exiting the Flakall's machinery were similar.

To get the super crispy, light texture we associate with things like Cheetos, the puffs need to next be deep fried, after which the snacks are coated with the signature powdery cheese coating. However, the fatter, lighter cheese puffs are more typically baked. The original Korn Kurls were fried by the time they hit the market in 1939.

Today, several companies make puffed corn snacks. Many believe that Jax puffed cheese curls are the best, even ranking over Cheetos brand. We're also fans of Herr's brand cheese curls.

When the machinery at Flakall Corporation began producing corn puffs, it was completely unintentional. Whether or not the company realized it was sitting on a gold mine is unknown, but Flakall did see that it could produce more of these puffy corn snacks and please the masses with them. The company had already obtained a patent for its machinery that accidentally spewed out the corn snacks, but upon discovery of the food, Flakall switched gears and pursued a patent in 1939 specifically to produce Korn Kurls.

Not long after, Flakall removed itself from the livestock feeding business, changed its name to the Adams Corporation, and devoted itself to Korn Kurls. At the same time, other companies were making their own cheese-coated corn puffs: CheeWees and Cheez Doodles followed shortly after. Over the ensuing years, Korn Kurls experienced lapses (during World War II due to rationed ingredients) and acquisitions. The Adams Corporation was eventually sold to Maddox Metal Works in the 1990s, a company that made machinery used to make snack foods. Korn Kurls themselves fizzled into being a historical product, but the machinery lives on through Maddox, whose machines are used to make, you guessed it, Cheetos.