Cheetos have been called "one of the most marvelously constructed foods on the planet"
and even if that is hyperbole, there's no denying that this snack food is incredibly
popular. There's quite a bit of science and some interesting history behind this cheesy,
orange snack.
Since the 1980s, Cheetos' television commercials have featured Chester Cheetah, the mischievous
mascot with a slick attitude and a constant hunger for cheese-coated corn snacks.
"It's not easy bein' cheesy,"
the animated feline declared in his earlier iterations, with subsequent catchphrases including
"Dangerously cheesy!" and "Take a Cheetos break with Cheetos."
However, Chester was not Cheetos' original mascot. That honor goes to the Chee-tos Mouse.
The Chee-tos Mouse truly loved the snack, trumpeting the catchphrase
"Cheetos: Cheese that goes crunch."
In addition to its species, the mouse had some significant differences from his successor.
While Chester's more laid-back, the mouse was sometimes snooty and would often be pictured
wearing a three-piece suit. One spot depicted the mouse as a politician, while in another
he was swinging through the trees as a cheesier version of adventure hero Tarzan.
According to Advertising Week 360, the character was designed by artist Paul Coker Jr., a familiar
name to fans of Mad magazine from that era, where his illustrations appeared regularly.
While the Chee-tos Mouse has faded from memory, promotional items bearing his likeness can
still be found on eBay.
If it seems as if eating one Cheeto inevitably leads to eating an entire bag, that's not
imaginary it's science. A jaw-dropping 2013 investigation in The New York Times Magazine
took a deep dive into the scientific processes and complicated chemical combinations that
go into consumers' favorite snack food.
According to the article, Cheetos manufacturer Frito-Lay has a research facility in Texas
"where nearly 500 chemists, psychologists, and technicians conducted research that cost
up to 30 million dollars a year." Among the many goals was to attain the perfect degree
of crunchiness, aroma, and "mouth feel" which they test with a 40 thousand dollar piece
of equipment that "simulated a chewing mouth." Saying the team took the development of Cheetos
seriously would be an understatement.
Food scientist Steven Witherly, author of Why Humans Like Junk Food, told the magazine
that Cheetos "is one of the most marvelously constructed foods on the planet, in terms
of pure pleasure." He singled out a key factor behind the addictiveness of Cheetos: the way
the snack melts in one's mouth. This phenomenon, called "vanishing caloric density," makes
your brain think that you're not actually getting calories, so you should just eat more.
In the early part of the 20th century, similar experiments in Switzerland and America focused
on creating a shelf-stable cheese that could withstand heat and time without turning into
ooze. Kraft Foods founder James Kraft was among those experimenting with adding emulsifying
salts to cheese, resulting in "a cheese-like product" that could be produced cheaply and
lasted far longer than actual cheese. Eventually, this led to the development of a cheese powder.
In 1948 the Frito Company created its first cheesy snack food using the resulting dehydrated
cheese powder. Eventually, the company cooked up a new product made from cornmeal and water
that was extruded, puffed with hot air, and then fried in oil before being coated with
dehydrated powdered cheese. Just like that, the Cheetos a lot of folks have loved since
they were kids were born.
There have been numerous flavor varieties of Cheetos over the years, but one that has
demonstrated continued popularity has been Flamin' Hot Cheetos. However, the product
may never have come into existence had it not been for former Frito-Lay janitor Richard
Montañez. In a video interview for The Washington Post, he joked that his innovation came from
having a PhD that is, "poor, hungry and determined."
According to a CNBC feature on Montañez, he was working at a Frito-Lay factory when
one of the machines on the Cheetos assembly line broke down, leaving the snacks without
their traditional dusting of cheese powder. This gave him an idea: What would happen if
he put chili on a Cheeto? To find out, he brought some of those undusted Cheetos home
and experimented by sprinkling them with chili powder.
The janitor liked what he tasted. He pitched the product to Frito-Lay's CEO, who loved
the concept. This result was a billion-dollar brand and the end of Montañez's job as a
janitor. He landed a big promotion and became a PepsiCo executive whose life is being turned
into a movie.
Cheetos are available in multiple flavors, ranging from the iconic Flamin' Hot variety
to others such as White Cheddar. A trip beyond the U.S. borders, however, will bring encounters
with many more and even more unusual flavors aimed at different international markets.
Japanese consumers, for example, can enjoy Pepsi-flavored Cheetos. Also available in
Japan: sweet strawberry Cheetos, Mountain Dew Cheetos, Cheeseburger Cheetos, Avocado
Salad Cheetos, and Mentaiko Mayo Cheetos, which combines the flavors of cod roe and
mayonnaise.
Meanwhile, consumers in the European Union can enjoy ketchup-flavored Cheetos, while
an Asian variety boasts the distinctive taste of seaweed. In South Korea, snackers can enjoy
Cheetos that taste like a "European burger," whatever that is, while Vietnam is home to
a strawberry-yogurt variety.
Coming up with new flavor varieties to tempt tastebuds isn't the only thing the masterminds
behind Cheetos get up to. In 2019, the snack brand partnered with clothing retailer Forever
21 for a line of Cheetos-themed clothing that included socks, t-shirts and even a dress.
That collaboration between Cheetos and Forever 21 also included a line of makeup, including
a Flamin' Hot Highlighter Bronzer. YouTube makeup guru Jeffree Star reviewed the bronzer,
and was not impressed.
"OK you guys, literally you know I'm not about to cover my whole face with that."
That wasn't the first time that Cheetos ventured into similar areas. In 2014, Cheetos unveiled
Cheeteau, a Cheetos-scented perfume for people who aren't satisfied just having the smell
on their fingers all day.
In 2017, Chris Astoyani dug into a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos and pulled one out. He
was stunned at what he saw, showing the Cheeto to a coworker. As The Los Angeles Times reported,
his colleague confirmed that the Cheeto "looks like Harambe," the gorilla who was shot and
killed after a young child fell into the animal's enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo.
Astoyani decided the gorilla-shaped snack could be worth a few bucks, and listed it
on eBay with an asking price of $15. When he got no takers, he dropped his price to
$11.99. Within days there had been 132 bids on the Cheeto, with a top bid of $99,900.
However, Astoyani told the newspaper that the buyer backed out.
"And of course you wonder what kind of person would buy this?"
Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel claimed to have tracked down the buyer of the Cheeto,
and paid the supposed buyer a visit in a filmed bit for his show. In the comedy sketch, Kimmel
asked the Cheeto's owner, a lawyer, if he could take a look. When the man pointed to
the Cheeto sitting on a shelf, Kimmel proceeded to punch him in the face before popping the
Cheeto into his mouth.
While Cheetos are obviously a popular snack food in their own right, what would an entire
menu based on Cheetos look like? Diners found that out in 2017, reported People, when the
Spotted Cheetah opened its doors. A pop-up restaurant that only existed for three days,
the Spotted Cheetah featured Cheetos-inspired culinary creations from celebrity chef Anne
Burrell.
Among the dishes at the pop-up were Purrfectly Fried Green Tomatoes, which were topped with
white cheddar-flavored Cheetos, and Flamin' Hot Cheddar Mac n' Cheetos, which boasted
a crust made from Cheetos Flamin' Hot Chipotle Ranch.
As anyone who's ever polished off a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos can attest, those suckers
are spicy. For proof, ask rapper Lil Xan, who was actually hospitalized due to consumption
of Flamin' Hot Cheetos. In a video he shared in a since-deleted Instagram post, reported
CNN, he declared that he that he vomited blood after eating too many and damaging his stomach.
In fact, Lil Xan is far from the only person to visit a hospital after eating the spicy
snack. In 2012, ABC News reported on parents who brought their children to the ER after
seeing what appeared to be bloody stool, not realizing it was actually just the bright
red dye used to color the Cheetos.
After Lil Xan's unfortunate trip to the hospital, Cheetos manufacturer Frito-Lay defended its
product. "Flamin' Hot Cheetos meet all applicable food safety regulations, as well as our rigorous
quality standards," the company said in a statement to CNN.
"That said, we realize some consumers may be more sensitive to spicy foods than others
and may choose to moderate consumption or avoid spicier snacks due to personal preference."
Cheetos are known for their cheesy goodness and crispy crunch, but there's another little-known
fact about the iconic snack: In a pinch, Cheetos can be used to get a campfire going if there's
no dry kindling available. A Cheeto will easily catch fire when lit by a flame, as numerous
YouTube videos and social media posts demonstrate.
The oil within Cheetos and, for that matter, other snacks such as Doritos and potato chips
is what makes them burst into flames. According to a fact sheet about kitchen fires released
by Utah's Office of the State Fire Marshal, Cheetos and other types of oily snacks are
"all quite flammable," and can be potential fire hazards. "Chips like these are fatty
foods and hydrocarbons, both of which burn readily," noted the fact sheet.
There is a lot of scientific know-how and complicated chemistry involved in creating
the seemingly humble Cheeto. It all begins with "enriched cornmeal" that is, cornmeal
to which a variety of other things have been added, including riboflavin and folic acid.
The cornmeal is then pushed through an extruder, with the resulting uniform-shaped pieces then
quickly fried in vegetable oil before being coated in cheese-flavored seasoning. It's
that powder that contains the bulk of the ingredients listed on the products' packaging.
In addition to cheddar cheese and whey, the powder also contains canola oil, maltodextrin,
salt, whey protein concentrate, monosodium glutamate, lactic acid, citric acid, and artificial
color.
Cheetos are distinctive for their bright orange coloring that easily turns tongues and fingers
the same color. Back in 2001, however, Frito-Lay experimented with a new product designed to
transform tongues an entirely different color on purpose. Cheetos Mystery Colorz had been
specially designed to turn the tongue of whoever ate them blue or green.
As for how that particular bit of trickery worked, the Mystery Colorz Cheetos were coated
in a color-changing additive that was activated by saliva, which prompted the color change.
Sadly, they were only available for a limited time.
For a brief, shining time in 2017, serious fans of Cheetos could pay homage to the salty
snack at the Cheetos Museum. But it was more of an exhibit than a full museum. As Food
& Wine reported at the time, the Cheetos Museum was a temporary installation set up throughout
the summer at Ripley's Believe It or Not! in New York City's Times Square.
The Cheetos Museum was as "cheesy" as one would expect, including exhibits like sculptures
made from Cheetos. There was even a contest encouraging fans of the snack to send in photos
of the most uniquely shaped Cheeto they could find, with the winner taking home a $50,000
cash prize and earning the honor of having that Cheeto on permanent display as part of
Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium collection. The winning entry was a Cheeto shaped like
a unicorn.
The most impressive feature of the Cheetos Museum, however, wasn't what was inside the
museum, but the walls surrounding the exhibit, which were covered with a whopping 128,900
Cheetos.
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