April 13, 2025 • 10 mins
Cheesy and Fondue celebrate National Cheese Fries day. We talk about the origin of cheese fries, poutine, tartiflette and other tater and cheese dishes around the world. We find out about the winner of a boatload of cheese. And of course, we tell a very cheesy joke!
Find us at www.justcheesy.com and everywhere you enjoy social media! https://linktr.ee/JustCheesy
***Newsly is the sponsor of this episode! Go to https://newsly.me to download the free app and listen to articles, podcasts and digital radio! Get a FREE 1-Month Premium Subscription by using promo code CHEESY. Start listening today! ***
Why is cheddar the most dangerous of all the cheeses? Because it is very sharp!
Show Notes
https://nationaltoday.com/national-cheddar-fries-day/
https://www.aviko.co.uk/blog/loaded-fries-brief-history
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/history-of-poutine
https://www.food.com/recipe/raclette-potatoes-and-cheese-from-switzerland-423402#
https://www.helvetickitchen.com/recipes/rosti
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryndzové_halušky
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llapingacho
https://georgia.travel/tashmijabi
This Week in Cheese
https://www.kmbc.com/article/overland-park-kansas-woman-wins-boat-of-cheese-giveaway/64377848
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Just tv, the podcast presentedby Just Cheesy Productions.
Hi there, I'm your host, Fondue.
I'm Cheesy.
In this week's episode, we'retalking all about National Cheese
Fries Day. We're talking aboutthe origin of cheese fries, poutine
(00:25):
tartiflette and other tateringcheese dishes from around the world.
We're even going to learnabout the winner of a literal boatload
of cheese.
A boatload.
And of course, no episodewould be complete without our very
cheesy joke. Stay tuned forepisode 178, cheese fries on Just
Cheesy, the podcast. Accordingto NationalToday.com April 20th is
(00:54):
National Cheddar Fries Day,and this holiday started at Snuffers
Restaurant and Bar in Dallasin 2016.
Wow.
This restaurant is famous forits cheddar fries made from Idaho
potatoes and aged Wisconsin cheese.
Yum.
They say the restaurant hashad this dish all the way since 1978.
Holy cow.
(01:15):
You'd think this would bequite straightforward. But according
to aveco.co.uk loaded frieshave different origin stories. In
1956, Austin Rues works atDairy Queen and creates chili cheese
fries in Missouri.
Wow.
And apparently they neverbecame part of the menu, but they
could be specially ordered.And people believe that the cheese
(01:37):
fries became popular becausethe famous cheese in a can showed
up on supermarket shelves inthat same year. And that cheese was
Cheez Whiz.
Ooh yum.
Some credit a 16 year oldnamed Don Jenkins who worked at Dairy
Queen in Texas with inventingthe cheese fries.
Whoa.
Heck. There's even rumorsabout New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.
(01:57):
New Yorkers make theirs witheither cheddar or mozzarella brown
gravy and chili. Philly servestheirs with Monterey Jack and chili
and Chicago uses chili con carand cheddar cheese. And what I find
interesting is that poutinewas actually invented in 1957, so
it's pretty close to thecheese fries era.
Oh yeah.
The national poutine holidayis on April 11th. I personally think
(02:21):
you can make the case thatcheese fries and poutine are pretty
similar. Poutine is made offrench fries cheese curds, and it's
served with gravy on top. Andthis dish, of course, has two different
origin stories. Of course,Ferdinand Lachance of Cafe IDL said
he had first added curds tofries at the request of a customer
(02:41):
in 1957. The customer wantedcurds and fries just thrown together
in a bag and he remarked, thisis a poutine, using the Quebecois
slang for a mess Gravy wasn'tadded until 1963.
Really?
Customers complained that thefries grew cold too quickly on the
plate.
Oh, no.
They say here he doused thefries and curds with gravy to keep
(03:02):
them warm.
Oh, yeah.
In 1964 in Drummondville, JeanPaul Roy claims he invented poutine
at his Drive in restaurant.
Really?
He said he had been servingfries in a special sauce since 1958,
and he called it patot sauce.
What's a patot?
It's French for potato. Hesaid he noticed customers were adding
cheese curds to the fries,which he sold in bags at his snack
(03:24):
counter. And he added thisdish to the regular menu under the
name fromage patat sauce.
Ooh, yum.
(04:22):
Poutine and cheese fries arenot sponsors, but if they were, their
ad would go right here. Cheesefries and poutine are just a couple
of many, many cheese andpotato dishes. One of the very first
that comes to mind are augratin potatoes.
Oh, yeah.
And I don't know if you knewthis, but au gratin is just a French
(04:42):
cooking term.
It is.
And it refers to any dishtopped with cheese and breadcrumbs
and browned under a broiler.
I could have hot dogs au gratin.
You sure could. Well,southernliving.com gives us the difference
between scalloped potatoes andpotatoes au gratin.
Really?
And apparently, it's just thisFrench cooking technique.
Ye.
Scalloped potatoes are usuallybaked in a cream sauce until soft
(05:03):
and tender with no cheesetopping. And au gratin potatoes actually
have the cheese sprinkledbetween the layers and also on top
of the casserole.
Yum.
Similar to the au gratin,there is a dish called tartiflette.
In the world of cheese, thisis a relatively new dish. This was
developed in the 1980s inorder to promote the sale of reblochon
(05:26):
cheese. And reblochon gets itsname from the French verb reblocher,
which literally, literallytranslates to pinch the cow's udder.
Again, you can call itwhatever you want, but I call it
delicious. It starts withpeeled and sliced potatoes, smoked
bacon, a white onion, somewhite wine. You cook the bacon, and
(05:46):
then you take it out. You putthe onions in the bacon grease, and
you cook that. You add alittle bit of wine to the pan, and
it reduces, and it makes thiskind of a sweet sauce with the onions.
You put that over top of thepotatoes, then you take that potato
mixture in half, you sprinkleit with some of the bacon, it with
some of the rebuchon yourepeat the layers with the last being
(06:07):
the revlochon. And theremaining bacon, you put that in
the oven and you let it bakefor 20 minutes until it's golden
brown and bubbling.
Yummy.
I mean, with the layering andeverything, this is almost potato
lasagna. It is so, so yummy.
So good.
I mean, and not to outdothemselves, but the French actually
have a take on mashed potatoesand cheese.
Whoa.
(06:27):
They have something called pommes.
Really?
This dish is somewhere betweenmashed potatoes and fondue. They
describe intense, stretchy,and rib stickingly comforting. And
they claim the dish is 43%cheese by mass.
Holy cow.
You're going to need potatoesand cheese, salted butter, heavy
cream, and a few cloves ofgarlic. The potatoes are cooked until
(06:51):
they fall apart. And unlikemost mashed potatoes, this involves
a lot of stirring to melt thecheese. And it encourages the release
of the starch, ensuring youget, they say, the stretchiest aligo
possible.
Wow.
It looks so good.
Yeah, it does.
Not to be outdone by theFrench, but the Swiss have a couple
of dishes of their own.
Of course.
(07:11):
Raclette reminds me of fondue.
Yeah.
Where you can actually make itat the table.
Yeah. Yeah.
It usually involves a cheesemelting apparatus.
Okay.
I've got one that's got littlecandles in the bottom. And you take
a slice of cheese and you letit melt.
Oh, yeah.
Traditionally, you would havesmall boiled potatoes or other charcuterie
on your plate.
Oh, yeah.
And then you take that meltedcheese and you slide it on the and
(07:33):
you eat it right there. Andit's delicious.
Delicious.
The Swiss also have a dishthat I'm going to brutalize and call
Rosti. R O S T I.
Sure.
And this is kind of like hash browns.
Oh, yeah.
According toHelvetickitchen.com this is a grated
fried potato pancake. It'smade in a frying pan. It's best with
(07:54):
waxy potatoes, and clarifiedbutter is usually used. Unlike hash
browns or home fries, thisthing is more like a pancake, and
it's flipped all in one go.And this potato pancake is typically
served with cheese on top.
Yum.
In Ecuador, there's a friedpotato pancake called Llapingacho
Oh, sure.
I'm sorry.
(08:15):
Yeah.
The thick potato patty isstuffed with cheese and cooked on
a hot griddle until crispy brown.
Yum.
There's a Slovak dish calledI'm so sorry.
Oh, no.
Bryndzové halušky
Oh, no.
This is a potato dough similarto gnocchi. It's served kind of like
spaetzle, and it's cooked witha soft sheep cheese on top.
(08:37):
Yum.
Of course, there's added baconon the top of that and some chives.
Yummy.
Kind of similar, in myopinion, to the pomeligo.
Oh, yeah.
There is a dish in the countryof Georgia called Tashmijabi
Oh, sure.
For every 1 kg of potatoes, ahalf a kilogram of cheese is required.
Okay.
You cook the potatoes in theskin. Once they cool, you peel them,
(08:58):
you put them in a pot, youmash them.
Okay.
You pour milk and hot water onthem. You put it over a low flame,
and you mix in the powderedcheese. Of course, you stir until
the cheese melts, and thewhole thing is uniform and stretchy.
And when you take it to thetable, you make an indentation in
the middle, and you put somemelted butter inside. Ooh, that sounds
(09:18):
so good.
Yeah, it does.
It's time for my favoritesegment this week in cheese. According
to kmbc.com there's a woman inKansas who won a literal boatload
of cheese. A boatloadTillamook cheese had a very special
giveaway honoring its birthdayand National Cheddar Day. The winner
was set to take home 1909pounds of Tillamook cheese.
(09:43):
Holy cow.
The prize was actually handdelivered to her on a boat on April
1st.
Wow.
And they say it might havesounded like an April Fool's prank.
Yeah.
But there's no faking whatshowed up in her driveway. There's
a picture here of her standingby this literal boatload of cheese.
I'm ready for a joke fondue.
Okay. How did fries tauntcheese after winning an award? I
(10:05):
don't know how it said, youcan't top this. Oh, get it. You can't
top this because cheese issort of on top of fries. Cheese fries.
Dorky.
Yeah, I know. It was dorky anda little bit cheesy. Thanks for listening
to Just Cheesy, the podcast,episode 178, cheese fries.
(10:28):
Thank you.
You know, we started a newthing a few weeks ago.
Yes.
And I'd say that this. Thisepisode is #givingcheese.
Giving cheese.
Check out YouTube shorts tofind out the definition of #givingcheese
and stay cheesy, everybody.
Just tv, the podcast presentedby Just Cheesy Productions.
Hi there, I'm your host, Fondue.
I'm Cheesy.
In this week's episode, we'retalking all about National Cheese
Fries Day. We're talking aboutthe origin of cheese fries, poutine
(00:25):
tartiflette and other tateringcheese dishes from around the world.
We're even going to learnabout the winner of a literal boatload
of cheese.
A boatload.
And of course, no episodewould be complete without our very
cheesy joke. Stay tuned forepisode 178, cheese fries on Just
Cheesy, the podcast. Accordingto NationalToday.com April 20th is
(00:54):
National Cheddar Fries Day,and this holiday started at Snuffers
Restaurant and Bar in Dallasin 2016.
Wow.
This restaurant is famous forits cheddar fries made from Idaho
potatoes and aged Wisconsin cheese.
Yum.
They say the restaurant hashad this dish all the way since 1978.
Holy cow.
(01:15):
You'd think this would bequite straightforward. But according
to aveco.co.uk loaded frieshave different origin stories. In
1956, Austin Rues works atDairy Queen and creates chili cheese
fries in Missouri.
Wow.
And apparently they neverbecame part of the menu, but they
could be specially ordered.And people believe that the cheese
(01:37):
fries became popular becausethe famous cheese in a can showed
up on supermarket shelves inthat same year. And that cheese was
Cheez Whiz.
Ooh yum.
Some credit a 16 year oldnamed Don Jenkins who worked at Dairy
Queen in Texas with inventingthe cheese fries.
Whoa.
Heck. There's even rumorsabout New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.
(01:57):
New Yorkers make theirs witheither cheddar or mozzarella brown
gravy and chili. Philly servestheirs with Monterey Jack and chili
and Chicago uses chili con carand cheddar cheese. And what I find
interesting is that poutinewas actually invented in 1957, so
it's pretty close to thecheese fries era.
Oh yeah.
The national poutine holidayis on April 11th. I personally think
(02:21):
you can make the case thatcheese fries and poutine are pretty
similar. Poutine is made offrench fries cheese curds, and it's
served with gravy on top. Andthis dish, of course, has two different
origin stories. Of course,Ferdinand Lachance of Cafe IDL said
he had first added curds tofries at the request of a customer
(02:41):
in 1957. The customer wantedcurds and fries just thrown together
in a bag and he remarked, thisis a poutine, using the Quebecois
slang for a mess Gravy wasn'tadded until 1963.
Really?
Customers complained that thefries grew cold too quickly on the
plate.
Oh, no.
They say here he doused thefries and curds with gravy to keep
(03:02):
them warm.
Oh, yeah.
In 1964 in Drummondville, JeanPaul Roy claims he invented poutine
at his Drive in restaurant.
Really?
He said he had been servingfries in a special sauce since 1958,
and he called it patot sauce.
What's a patot?
It's French for potato. Hesaid he noticed customers were adding
cheese curds to the fries,which he sold in bags at his snack
(03:24):
counter. And he added thisdish to the regular menu under the
name fromage patat sauce.
Ooh, yum.
(04:22):
Poutine and cheese fries arenot sponsors, but if they were, their
ad would go right here. Cheesefries and poutine are just a couple
of many, many cheese andpotato dishes. One of the very first
that comes to mind are augratin potatoes.
Oh, yeah.
And I don't know if you knewthis, but au gratin is just a French
(04:42):
cooking term.
It is.
And it refers to any dishtopped with cheese and breadcrumbs
and browned under a broiler.
I could have hot dogs au gratin.
You sure could. Well,southernliving.com gives us the difference
between scalloped potatoes andpotatoes au gratin.
Really?
And apparently, it's just thisFrench cooking technique.
Ye.
Scalloped potatoes are usuallybaked in a cream sauce until soft
(05:03):
and tender with no cheesetopping. And au gratin potatoes actually
have the cheese sprinkledbetween the layers and also on top
of the casserole.
Yum.
Similar to the au gratin,there is a dish called tartiflette.
In the world of cheese, thisis a relatively new dish. This was
developed in the 1980s inorder to promote the sale of reblochon
(05:26):
cheese. And reblochon gets itsname from the French verb reblocher,
which literally, literallytranslates to pinch the cow's udder.
Again, you can call itwhatever you want, but I call it
delicious. It starts withpeeled and sliced potatoes, smoked
bacon, a white onion, somewhite wine. You cook the bacon, and
(05:46):
then you take it out. You putthe onions in the bacon grease, and
you cook that. You add alittle bit of wine to the pan, and
it reduces, and it makes thiskind of a sweet sauce with the onions.
You put that over top of thepotatoes, then you take that potato
mixture in half, you sprinkleit with some of the bacon, it with
some of the rebuchon yourepeat the layers with the last being
(06:07):
the revlochon. And theremaining bacon, you put that in
the oven and you let it bakefor 20 minutes until it's golden
brown and bubbling.
Yummy.
I mean, with the layering andeverything, this is almost potato
lasagna. It is so, so yummy.
So good.
I mean, and not to outdothemselves, but the French actually
have a take on mashed potatoesand cheese.
Whoa.
(06:27):
They have something called pommes.
Really?
This dish is somewhere betweenmashed potatoes and fondue. They
describe intense, stretchy,and rib stickingly comforting. And
they claim the dish is 43%cheese by mass.
Holy cow.
You're going to need potatoesand cheese, salted butter, heavy
cream, and a few cloves ofgarlic. The potatoes are cooked until
(06:51):
they fall apart. And unlikemost mashed potatoes, this involves
a lot of stirring to melt thecheese. And it encourages the release
of the starch, ensuring youget, they say, the stretchiest aligo
possible.
Wow.
It looks so good.
Yeah, it does.
Not to be outdone by theFrench, but the Swiss have a couple
of dishes of their own.
Of course.
(07:11):
Raclette reminds me of fondue.
Yeah.
Where you can actually make itat the table.
Yeah. Yeah.
It usually involves a cheesemelting apparatus.
Okay.
I've got one that's got littlecandles in the bottom. And you take
a slice of cheese and you letit melt.
Oh, yeah.
Traditionally, you would havesmall boiled potatoes or other charcuterie
on your plate.
Oh, yeah.
And then you take that meltedcheese and you slide it on the and
(07:33):
you eat it right there. Andit's delicious.
Delicious.
The Swiss also have a dishthat I'm going to brutalize and call
Rosti. R O S T I.
Sure.
And this is kind of like hash browns.
Oh, yeah.
According toHelvetickitchen.com this is a grated
fried potato pancake. It'smade in a frying pan. It's best with
(07:54):
waxy potatoes, and clarifiedbutter is usually used. Unlike hash
browns or home fries, thisthing is more like a pancake, and
it's flipped all in one go.And this potato pancake is typically
served with cheese on top.
Yum.
In Ecuador, there's a friedpotato pancake called Llapingacho
Oh, sure.
I'm sorry.
(08:15):
Yeah.
The thick potato patty isstuffed with cheese and cooked on
a hot griddle until crispy brown.
Yum.
There's a Slovak dish calledI'm so sorry.
Oh, no.
Bryndzové halušky
Oh, no.
This is a potato dough similarto gnocchi. It's served kind of like
spaetzle, and it's cooked witha soft sheep cheese on top.
(08:37):
Yum.
Of course, there's added baconon the top of that and some chives.
Yummy.
Kind of similar, in myopinion, to the pomeligo.
Oh, yeah.
There is a dish in the countryof Georgia called Tashmijabi
Oh, sure.
For every 1 kg of potatoes, ahalf a kilogram of cheese is required.
Okay.
You cook the potatoes in theskin. Once they cool, you peel them,
(08:58):
you put them in a pot, youmash them.
Okay.
You pour milk and hot water onthem. You put it over a low flame,
and you mix in the powderedcheese. Of course, you stir until
the cheese melts, and thewhole thing is uniform and stretchy.
And when you take it to thetable, you make an indentation in
the middle, and you put somemelted butter inside. Ooh, that sounds
(09:18):
so good.
Yeah, it does.
It's time for my favoritesegment this week in cheese. According
to kmbc.com there's a woman inKansas who won a literal boatload
of cheese. A boatloadTillamook cheese had a very special
giveaway honoring its birthdayand National Cheddar Day. The winner
was set to take home 1909pounds of Tillamook cheese.
(09:43):
Holy cow.
The prize was actually handdelivered to her on a boat on April
1st.
Wow.
And they say it might havesounded like an April Fool's prank.
Yeah.
But there's no faking whatshowed up in her driveway. There's
a picture here of her standingby this literal boatload of cheese.
I'm ready for a joke fondue.
Okay. How did fries tauntcheese after winning an award? I
(10:05):
don't know how it said, youcan't top this. Oh, get it. You can't
top this because cheese issort of on top of fries. Cheese fries.
Dorky.
Yeah, I know. It was dorky anda little bit cheesy. Thanks for listening
to Just Cheesy, the podcast,episode 178, cheese fries.
(10:28):
Thank you.
You know, we started a newthing a few weeks ago.
Yes.
And I'd say that this. Thisepisode is #givingcheese.
Giving cheese.
Check out YouTube shorts tofind out the definition of #givingcheese
and stay cheesy, everybody.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.