Pizza rolls are afrozen food product consisting of bite-sized breaded pizza pockets with an interior oftomato sauce,cheese orcheese analogue,[1] and various pizza toppings. They are sold in a variety of flavors including cheese,[2]pepperoni, sausage, supreme, multiple imitation[3] cheeses, and mixed meats.[4] Other flavors included hamburger, cheeseburger, ham and cheese, and combination (pepperoni and sausage). Pizza snack rolls are designed to be quickly cooked in the oven or microwave. The name "pizza rolls" is a trademark ofGeneral Mills, current owner of the original product,[5] currently sold under theTotino's brand.[6]
Similar products are made by other brands andprivate labels. Since the original name is trademark protected, different names are used[7] such aspizza bites,pizza snacks, orpizza poppers.
Pizza rolls were created in the mid-1960s inDuluth, Minnesota, United States, by product developer and cookBeatrice Ojakangas.[8][9][10][11] She worked for food industry entrepreneurJeno Paulucci, who specialized in canned and frozenChinese food under theChun King brand and was looking for new uses for hisegg roll wrapping machine.[12][8] According to Ojakangas, she started with over 50 filling ideas, including a number of sandwich flavors such aspeanut butter and jelly. Several of her pizza-flavored concepts performed well ontaste tests.[8] Paulucci stated, "pizza rolls are nothing but egg rolls with pizza crust and filling."[8] For the commercial production, Paulucci adopted a co-extrusion process using aDemaco extruder.[citation needed] Jeno's, Paulucci'sfrozen pizza brand, began using the Pizza Rolls trademark in 1967.[13]
In 1985, Paulucci sold Jeno's toPillsbury, which ownedTotino's pizza.[14] Jeno's Pizza Rolls were rebranded as Totino's Pizza Rolls in 1993.[15] Pillsbury was sold to General Mills in 2001. After a series of commercial spoofs onSaturday Night Live, Totino's pizza rolls saw a boost in popularity and sales in 2016.[16]
^Jeno's v. Commissioner (U.S. Dist. Ct. Minnesota July 22, 1985), Text.
^St. Anthony, Neal (March 10, 1986)."Doughboy is king of the freezer".Star Tribune. Minneapolis.Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. RetrievedJanuary 26, 2021.
