Acheese ball is an Americanhors d'oeuvre that is a type ofcheese spread. It first appeared in the 1940s, fell out of fashion, and then had a resurgence in popularity in the 21st century.
The cheese ball is typically made from gratedhard cheese and softenedcream cheese, sometimes with some sort of binder such as mayonnaise; the mixture is shaped, chilled to resolidify, and often rolled in nuts, seeds, or herbs to provide a decorative finish.[1][2] It is often served with crackers orcrudites at holiday parties in the United States.[3][4][5]
Cheese balls are sometimes formed into wheels or logs rather than balls or shaped and decorated to represent a variety of items such as owls or pineapples.[1][6][7]
The dish is representative of mid-20th centuryUS cuisine.[8] According toSplendid Table the first recipe appeared in a 1944 cookbook by Virginia Safford, a "wildly popular columnist" for theMinneapolis Star Journal.[8][9]
The dish fell out of fashion for a period; by the late 1980s the term "cheeseball" was synonymous with "lacking style, taste, or originality".[10] According toAmanda Hesser, writing for theNew York Times in 2003, it "tend[s] to be associated with shag rugs and tinsel, symbols of the middle-classmiddlebrow".[2]Kim Severson, writing forThe New York Times in 2016, said it was "the culinary equivalent of aRorschach test".[7]
Amy Sedaris and her brotherDavid wrote a play,The Book of Liz, that focussed on cheese balls as a metaphor for "the cliches we all live by", according toBen Brantley.[7][11] She included a recipe in her 2006 cookbook,Hosting a Party Under the Influence, and in 2007 made a version on theMartha Stewart Show, which according to Severson, "elevated cheese ballkitsch to an art form".[12][7][13] According toSplendid Table's Jennifer Russell, writing in 2014, "Sedaris may be singlehandedly responsible for the cheese ball's revival."[8] In 2014Culture, an industry magazine, said "cheese balls are making their comeback".[12] MplsStPaul Magazine called 2016 "the year of the cheese ball", calling the dish "the North’s answer to Southernpimento cheese".[7][9]