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America's Melting Pot
Cheese Ball hero image coming soon
1950s-present - Midcentury home economists, party hosts, and American dairy marketers
A midcentury-style cheese ball made with cream cheese, cheddar, green onion, Worcestershire, and a crunchy pecan coating.
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Difficulty
Easy
Prep time
15 minutes
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
1 hour 15 minutes including chilling
Servings
16 to 20 servings
Region
United States cocktail parties, church suppers, and holiday tables
Era introduced
1950s-present
Introduced by
Midcentury home economists, party hosts, and American dairy marketers
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The cheese ball is a compact symbol of postwar American entertaining: dairy-rich, make-ahead, easy to carry, and built for crackers. Earlier cream-cheese molds and dainty cheese mixtures existed before World War II, but the pecan-coated cheddar-and-cream-cheese party ball belongs especially to the 1950s and 1960s cocktail table. It still works because it is practical, generous, and familiar.
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