By contrast, Easy Cheese is cheese at the push of a button, and that's just too, well, easy. But when Cheez Whiz is heated, it transforms into a rich, umami-packed topping for steak sandwiches, burgers, French fries, and nachos. Sure, both types of processed cheese product probably have the same gang of industrial ingredients. Like other food products created through American ingenuity, Cheez Whiz is its own special snowflake, and I'm here, unashamed, to tell you why.Ĭheez Whiz is often confused with Easy Cheese, the processed cheese spread you spray out of a can. It's not a convenient stand-in for homemade cheese sauce. Because Cheez Whiz is not just an inferior substitute for honest melted cheese. Even though I'm also a cheese nerd who can talk for hours about the virtues of Bayley Hazen Blue, I can still appreciate the virtues of Cheez Whiz. 'Gross! Cheese from a can?'īut I refuse to be ashamed of my love and respect for this processed cheese product. 'Ugh, the stuff they put on cheesesteaks?' people gasp.

Do you turn up your nose at this processed-cheese product? One Epicurious editor is here to defend its right to exist-and proclaim the pleasures of actually eating it.Īs a former Philadelphian, I hear more than a fair share of hate against my beloved Cheez Whiz.

Cheez whiz jar