A Slice of History: Cheese Spreads
Making and packaging "Club Cheese" cheese spreads, 1949.
Cheese spreads, the yummy product that can be spread on crackers, celery sticks, bread, or whatever else you have a mind to spread it on for tasty snacks.
We first dived into making cheese spreads, called “Club Cheese” at that time, in the late 1940s. When our plant was constructed in 1949, it included a packaging room for rindless cheese and Club Cheese production. Club Cheese was made from trim pieces that resulted in cutting down the larger rindless blocks into smaller consumer-friendly weights. To make the spreads, the trim pieces were ground up and mixed with flavorings. It was then “packaged in a sausage-shaped pliofilm wrappers that keep the cheese fresh and moist,” so stated a 1951 promotion. It could be spread or sliced, making it the perfect size to serve on crackers.
We started with simple flavors: aged cheddar, garlic flavor, and smoke flavor. Then we got a little more adventurous and added onion and bacon flavors to the line of Club Cheeses.
This photo from 1949 shows the steps in the process: The grind machine to grind the trim pieces, the mixer to add in flavors, the “stuffer” to package the cheese into the casings, and the final weighing of the packaged product.
Today, we offer four flavors of cheese spreads, which are only available at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.
September 21st, 2011 at 12:53 pm
PLEASE include your cheese spreads (cheddar pecan) in your mail order store. They are so good and I have been craving them since our trip. Please share this wonderful treat with the rest of the country!
At your mercy!!!
Margaret McKnight
September 21st, 2011 at 2:08 pm
They are deeelish, Margaret! Thanks for your suggestion!
~ Jala of the Tillamook Team
November 30th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Took a trip from Huntington Beach to Lincold City for Thanksgiving. Went up to Tillamook specifically for the cheese spread only to find it was not in stock. Extremely bummed and would love to order online.
December 1st, 2011 at 5:41 pm
Hi there, Maureen. I did a little research and yes, the Factory is currently out of cheese spread. I’m so sorry. Like Squeaky Cheese, we don’t sell it online because of freshness issues. It would need to ship overnight in order to arrive to you at full quality. That might be some expensive cheese spread! I hope you’ll accept my apologize and visit us again soon. And next time, maybe give the Factory a call to make sure they have what you want. Thanks for understanding!
- Jala of the Tillamook Team
September 4th, 2012 at 12:30 am
My family and I have made it a tradition to visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory every summer for the past 4 years now because it is so close to the OR coast and we love to watch the manufacturing process as well as partake in the cheese samples. And of course we go for the ice cream! But during our last trip, just a few days ago, my mother and I discovered that the cheese spreads have been discontinued! We were very disappointed as we were planning to stock up on our favorites and to give some out as gifts. Were the spreads that unpopular? Please reconsider bringing them back! Who can we contact to let them know that it was a well loved product? Thanks!
September 4th, 2012 at 8:43 pm
Hi Stephenie,
Thanks for being such a big Tillamook fan and for visiting year after year! We love to be a part of family traditions!!
Thank you so much for your comment! We love hearing from our fans about what matters to them! We are always looking for ways to provide new and interesting products for our visitors at the Tillamook Cheese Factory to enjoy. Part of this effort includes rotating some products out that have limited distribution to make room for new items we think our visitors will appreciate. We are excited about finding some new specialty cheese products that we will be bringing in to supplement the variety of Tillamook cheeses we make and sell at our Visitors Center.
Thank you so much for reaching out!
- Kelly of the Tillamook Team
October 14th, 2012 at 11:53 am
We go to the beach often (we live in Portland) and we have enjoyed the cheese spread for YEARS! So disappointed to find out it was discontinued, as our tradition is to stop for crackers and cheese spread! BRING BACK THE CHEESE SPREAD! Occupy Tillamook Cheese Factory! Haha ok, not really. But please, please, please bring it back! Even if only seasonally.
October 17th, 2012 at 4:25 pm
Hi Niki,
Thanks for your comment. I’m happy to hear you’re a fan of Tillamook and so sorry you’re missing those tasty spreads! We are always looking for ways to provide new and interesting products for our visitors at the Tillamook Cheese Factory to enjoy. Part of this effort includes rotating some products out that have limited distribution to make room for new items we think our visitors will appreciate. While we’ll no longer be carrying the cheese spreads, we are excited about finding some new specialty cheese products that we will be bringing in to supplement the variety of Tillamook cheeses we make and sell here at our Visitors Center, so stay tuned!
Thanks again for your comment!
All the best,
Amalya, of the Tillamook Team