Kraft says Velveeta running low; fans warn of 'cheesepocalypse'
Source: Omaha World Herald
By Barbara Soderlin
Call it a tempest in a Crock-Pot.
A report Tuesday that Kraft Foods may be running short on Velveeta cheese just as the nation enters prime Super Bowl party queso-dip-making time had Twitter fans warning of a cheesepocalypse.
The supposed shortage could spill over into Omaha-based ConAgra Foods plans to market its Ro-Tel diced tomatoes, a key ingredient in a queso recipe co-marketed by Kraft and ConAgra in a rare collaboration between competitors.
But ConAgra didnt comment Tuesday on whether the concern could mean fewer sales, if the Velveeta shortage is widespread, or more sales, if the panic sends people to the stores in droves to pick up Ro-Tel along with what they fear could be the last box of the yellow cheese product.
FULL story at link.
Read more: http://www.omaha.com/article/20140107/MONEY/140109190/1685#kraft-says-velveeta-running-low-fans-warn-of-cheesepocalypse
Gore1FL
(21,165 posts)Niceguy1
(2,467 posts)But makes great mac and cheese
ronnie624
(5,764 posts)Niceguy1
(2,467 posts)Of unprocessed cheddar cheese for $5.88 or less
independentpiney
(1,510 posts)I've never seen unprocessed cheddar at any local grocers here in Florida or where I lived in NJ. The cheapest I ever see cheddar for is around 3.50/lb.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)I like creamy mac & cheese, not the kind you can slice up like cake.
I put in cheddar and pepperjack too.
Niceguy1
(2,467 posts)This weekend lol
The ingredients are going on the grocery list right now.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)Over the Rainbow mac & cheese. It has sharp and mild cheddar, Munster, pepper jack, velvetta. It's super fattening definitely not something regular to make, but I've made it for potlucks and heated it up in the crockpot. Super delicious.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)I used to make it with the Ro-Tel for people to have with corn chips, carrot and celery sticks, etc. Every so often I'll break down and buy a case of Ro-Tel to add to stews and soups.
OMG!!! I don't have any Velveeta!
Cleita
(75,480 posts)CFLDem
(2,083 posts)charlyvi
(6,537 posts)Sorry, not a fan.
Brother Buzz
(36,498 posts)GP6971
(31,263 posts)disguise it very well
penultimate
(1,110 posts)bucolic_frolic
(43,476 posts)This is as bad as Bill Clinton's "Bad Hair Day"
and Y2K Fears to spike generator sales.
Will the public ever figure out they are being conned?
adirondacker
(2,921 posts)Ash_F
(5,861 posts)What a horrible way to go.
RandiFan1290
(6,261 posts)Get all the sheep running to the store to stock up on their slimy bread before the circus.
Cha
(298,021 posts)MisterP
(23,730 posts)Gothmog
(145,839 posts)I was at Costco last week and there was a good supply on a pallet.
AAO
(3,300 posts)Beacool
(30,254 posts)Who eats that crap?
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)I don't know anyone that doesn't eat that.
niyad
(113,860 posts)you don't know me, but, believe me, I do NOT eat that swill.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)and I'm not fond of Velvetta, so no, I stay away from that LOL!
Beacool
(30,254 posts)Although I have eating Velveeta on one or two occasions. Ditto for Rotel.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)I've seen that type of queso my whole life at all kinds of parties. Sure not a formal sit down, but all casual get togethers, potlucks, etc. It's very common.
Beacool
(30,254 posts)Maybe it's because different regions have different eating habits? Now, if you ask me about onion dip made with Lipton onion soup and sour cream, that I've eaten my fair share. LOL!!!
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)The last work day before our holiday break we did an office "bring in snacks" and had a lot of different things including Velveeta Rotel queso.
Beacool
(30,254 posts)An assortment of cheeses, crackers and fruit? yes. A Velveeta dip? hell to the no.
I work for a Fortune 100, the company provided the holiday parties (too many offices and employees throughout the NY region for one party). We also had a department luncheon. Additionally, every year on Dec. 24 they have a big breakfast. Employees can bring their children and they have games and Santa comes with gifts for the kids. By 1 PM all the offices nationwide close.
Then there's the baskets and boxes of food that clients send. Stuff is still arriving.
December is a month of endless food. January is back to the reality of salad for lunch.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)Not full of yuppies, I guess.
There are maybe 20 people in the building I work in though. No family events except every few years due to security issues. If it was a formal company party food is provided, but a casual office/program potluck, someone always brings queso.
Beacool
(30,254 posts)I'm going to have to try it.
Tanuki
(14,930 posts)Beacool
(30,254 posts)HappyMe
(20,277 posts)I have put some chili (no beans) into the queso also. Pretty damn good.
progressoid
(50,013 posts)I don't use Rotel though. Salsa. Mmmmm
Atman
(31,464 posts)We must hang in different circles. I've never seen it, never eaten it, and there is no force on earth which would compel me to purchase Velveeta manufactured cheese-like product. I do, however, recall having RoTel tomatoes in the cupboard at one time. Not sure how they got there.
anasv
(225 posts)illegal unless made with Velveeta and white bread.
crim son
(27,465 posts)I've never been that hungry.
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)Not New England, for example.
MyNameGoesHere
(7,638 posts)6 children living just above the poverty line that never learned what smug meant. But other than that I don't know.
Beacool
(30,254 posts)It's processed junk food. There are healthier things that those "6 children" could eat.
MyNameGoesHere
(7,638 posts)we didn't have the gumption to ask our parents "Hey who eats this crap?" or tell our grandmother, who used it quite a lot to feed everyone on Sunday get together, it was crap. I suppose now that I can buy or make, whatever the hell I want, I sure would never turn up my nose at someone who serves it to me. It isn't the worst thing in the world to eat. And to tell you the truth the mac and cheese it made for me never tasted better. Now if you're done with your judgments why don't you have a nice piece of your superior cheese and have a great morning.
Beacool
(30,254 posts)That doesn't mean that I was putting your family down.
OKNancy
(41,832 posts)htuttle
(23,738 posts)Dude...just don't.
Unless you're talking about spraying your driveway with it to melt the snow. That's cool.
onehandle
(51,122 posts)That ain't cheese.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)They have to tell you it's food for you to know the difference between it and something that isn't food.
louis-t
(23,310 posts)I call it.
Tanuki
(14,930 posts)Anytime I complain about anything, my husband says, "What's Obama gonna do about it?"
Aerows
(39,961 posts)If it has to specify that it is food on the label, I'm pretty sure it is so far from being actual food that it skates the line that it is!
xfundy
(5,105 posts)And mindless consumers, once known as "citizens," panic and hoard that recipe for a heart attack, ready to defend it with guns.
IADEMO2004
(5,575 posts)I80 is choked with Velveeta trucks going to feed the "Rocky mountain Highs"
or not
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)SoapBox
(18,791 posts)PEOPLE!
Blue Owl
(50,567 posts)pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)It rather curdles my sensibilities.
struggle4progress
(118,379 posts)CatholicEdHead
(9,740 posts)It used to be made in New Ulm, MN through the end of 2012 and then moved to Champaign IL. They probably had a drop in production for the move which now is timed with this shortage.
http://www.bakingbusiness.com/articles/news_home/Site_News/2012/10/Kraft_retooling_Minnesota_plan.aspx?ID={47FA8AF3-1822-4333-AF87-3DEF6BE0577F}&cck=1
Kraft retooling Minnesota plant
10/30/2012 - by Eric Schroeder
Share This:
NEW ULM, MINN. A $25 million investment in new equipment infrastructure will lead to the elimination of 90 jobs at Kraft Foods Inc.s plant in New Ulm. The facility manufactures Velveeta products, Handi-Snacks on-the-go snacks, Deli Deluxe cheese slices, MilkBite milk and granola bars, and sliced and bulk processed cheese for food service customers.
Kraft said the move will result in the loss of the equivalent of 80 full-time hourly positions and 10 salaried positions.
Kraft has been in New Ulm since 1955 and employs 555 at the facility. As part of the restructuring, the plants Velveeta production will move to a Kraft plant in Champaign, Ill., and the New Ulm plant will begin making bulk food service cheese that is currently being produced at a Missouri plant that also is changing over its production lines. Additionally, the MilkBite line will be eliminated.
DJ13
(23,671 posts)dembotoz
(16,865 posts)suspect a fair amount of the velveeta shortage was in that omelet
it was pretty awful
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)Thunderbird
Andre...Cold Duck!
...I could puke just thinking about how many times I puked.
shenmue
(38,506 posts)We gonna diiiiiiiiie!
truthisfreedom
(23,168 posts)For the first time, at least by my own choice. I had purchased velveeta mac and cheese for a food drive that was going on outside a grocery store over a year ago, but when I got outside they'd moved on, so I brought it home and forgot about it till tonight. It expired last June but I made it anyway. It took 3.5 minutes to cook. My girlfriend and I consider ourselves foodies so I expected nothing good. First impression: faint odor of maple syrup! Weird. We let it set up for 2 minutes per the instructions. First bite, ok, weird nose and a bit too watery. I have to say, despite knowing what the ingredients are because we were reading the package as we ate it, we were astonished at how edible it became with each bite. Conclusion: this is an incredibly marketable product that comes with it's own bowl, gets you fed in about 6 minutes from scratch, and doesn't seem to have terribly poisonous ingredients. I can understand why people fall for Velveeta. It may look like disgusting dark yellow toothpaste but it does not get rejected on the palate!
rpannier
(24,350 posts)If it weren't for Obama and the ACA we'd be swimming in a sea of Velveeta.
Maybe if we all prayed and approved the oil pipeline we might have a chance
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)...so they can sneak the Velveeta pipeline past us before we realize what's happening.
Initech
(100,139 posts)6000eliot
(5,643 posts)rrneck
(17,671 posts)SoapBox
(18,791 posts)SCVDem
(5,103 posts)alongside real cheese. It's not there.
I wonder if this shortage has anything to do with Colorado legalizing weed?
Blame the munchies!
jmowreader
(50,589 posts)I have two blocks of cheese in the fridge right now: Tillamook sharp cheddar, for almost everything else, and Velveeta, for mac and cheese. Melting actual cheese without fucking it up is no mean feat, but Velveeta melts easily.
indie9197
(509 posts)But not better. You need to make a Mornay sauce by melting some butter with flour, adding various grated cheeses plus milk. The flour keeps the cheese from separating. The link is for a Martha stewart recipe for mac and cheese that is pretty good.
http://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/macaroni-and-cheese-with-mornay-sauce/
jmowreader
(50,589 posts)I've even done it in a double boiler.
Psephos
(8,032 posts)For most, being a bit superior to the lowbrows who buy Velveeta is more important than enjoying the simple pleasure of a good mac n' cheese.
To each their own.
longship
(40,416 posts)Now can we bring back real Pinconning cheese?
I like it extra sharp.
First, one has to kick Kraft's ass out of the town, so the old cheese making families can make a living for themselves, instead of serving the plastic cheese maker.
Velveeta? That's not cheese.
The Second Stone
(2,900 posts)will no one think of the coronary arteries that will go unblocked?
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)He said that to me last week, and I said, "Yuck, fake plastic cheese? You've got to be kidding me, I'm surprised it's still being made." And then I read this. Color me stunned.
jmowreader
(50,589 posts)TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)I don't buy processed cheese very often, but when I do it's Kraft or Borden singles--something made of actual dairy, at least.
chollybocker
(3,687 posts)SAVE THE CHEESE!
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)OKNancy
(41,832 posts)Velvetta is a good product for what it is. It melts really well and that is why people use it. It's ingredients are "cheese" but they whip in the whey with the curd to make it softer.
ETA: look up the ingredients.. it's not "plastic". The ingredients are much the same as "real" cheese.
Almost all great mac and cheese recipes use it as a base*. You can add fancy cheeses in the sauce.
You can't beat Velvetta for making queso. I don't use Rotel though, I use San Marcos brand jalapenos and sometimes add San Marcos brand chipotle peppers, and a little milk.
* in some contest, Patti LaBelle's mac and cheese recipe was rated #1. Here is her recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/patti-labelles-macaroni-and-cheese-17186
MADem
(135,425 posts)Years ago, there was a B-side song in honor of it:
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)The cheese distributed through government surplus food programs was the only cheese I ate for years. I bought Velveeta thinking it was the same stuff (looks the same, just in smaller blocks but Velveeta has a different taste and texture. The USDA cheese was more like a deli chunk of yellow American cheese -- and yes, "American cheese" is cheese food, so it's like Velveeta in that regard.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)At the time I was disappointed because I thought it would be the same and as others have noted, it's cheap compared to real cheese.
MADem
(135,425 posts)I was doing some shopping yesterday and they had a ton of it, in assorted sizes--a little box, a medium box, and a big 'un.
I resisted any temptation to grab the stuff and try it!
MadrasT
(7,237 posts)I have eaten quite a lot of Velveeta and also quite a lot of government cheese in my life.
Velveeta is saltier and creamier.
Government cheese is more solid and reminds me of American cheese that we used to buy by the half pound, sliced up at the deli counter in supermarkets.
I like them both.
I quite like "real cheese" too, but won't turn my nose up at either Velveeta or government cheese if it's around.
MADem
(135,425 posts)...but it looks like it's the same size/shape as government cheese, which I have eaten.
The Velveeta is obviously tasty, otherwise they wouldn't sell so much of it.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Not!
I do sort of wonder why they didn't call it "Virtual Cheese" or "Improbable Cheese" (given the other names).
But for a kid, that's heaven.
IADEMO2004
(5,575 posts)Shit you not, my great aunt used to feed me this.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)But yeah, I know. When I was young, I'd eat that stuff. Hot dogs, mystery meat. Now, I avoid anything processed.
Magleetis
(1,260 posts)Milk, water, milkfat, whey, milk protein concentrate, whey protein concentrate, sodium phosphate; contains less than 2% of: salt, calcium phosphate, lactic acid, sorbic acid as a preservative, sodium alginate, sodium citrate, enzymes, apocarotenal (color), annatto (color), and cheese culture
Old Union Guy
(738 posts)Atman
(31,464 posts)And you can sell it for $1.29 as "Kraft Macaroni & Cheese." To this day our oldest son (now 27) won't accept anything else as "real" mac 'n cheese. Sad. We ruined him due to poverty in our younger days.
carla
(553 posts)This is CORPORATE PROPAGANDA. Remove , please, or risk DU becoming a billboard for this kind of crap. Despicable.
Javaman
(62,534 posts)"you mights want to just put that block of 'veeta down, ifin' you know what's good fer ya!"
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Javaman
(62,534 posts)randome
(34,845 posts)Followed by: "How much longer you gonna be in there?"
[hr][font color="blue"][center]The truth doesnt always set you free.
Sometimes it builds a bigger cage around the one youre already in.[/center][/font][hr]
maddogesq
(1,245 posts)librechik
(30,678 posts)southerncrone
(5,506 posts)Simple economics 101: decrease in supply creates increase in demand, followed by price increase.
Companies are running out of ways to "fool" the public using "slight of hand" price increases like:
- gradually reducing size of pkg (seen the size of some cereal boxes these days?!?!)
- BOGO at jacked up price
- repackaging to confuse customer
Now we have intentional shortage.
Pretty sure we can live w/o fake cheese. I predict the only victims of this "shortage" will be Ro-Tel.