Velveeta is a brand name for a processed cheese similar to American cheese. It was developed in 1918 by Emil Frey (1867–1951) of the Monroe Cheese Company in Monroe, New York. In 1923, The Velveeta Cheese Company was incorporated as a separate company.[1] In 1925, it advertised two varieties, Swiss and American.[2] The firm was purchased by Kraft Foods Inc. in 1927.[3]
History
In 1888, the new owners of the Monroe Cheese Co., Adolphe Tode and Ferdinand Wolfe, hired former Neuesswanders Cheese Factory’s cheesemaker Emil Frey. While they saw success with one of Frey’s creations, Liederkranz cheese, they still ultimately fell into financial problems resulting in the foreclosure of the property. In 1891, Jacob Weisl purchased the company from the Goshen Savings Bank. Weisl set up a second factory in Covington, Pennsylvania, that made mostly Swiss cheese. He had the broken pieces of cheese sent up to Monroe hoping to find a way to prevent the waste.