The Unique Cheese That's Synonymous With St. Louis

If you visit St. Louis and order a pizza or cheeseburger, there's a good chance that it'll be served with a type of cheese you may not know about: provel. This cheese is more or less unique to the city, and it's pretty difficult to source anywhere else in the country unless you order it online.

So, what is provel? It's a highly processed product that's a mix of Swiss, cheddar, and provolone cheeses. It has achieved infamy due to the fact that it's not legally classified as cheese by the FDA. However, it is categorized as a "processed cheese product," so it still exists within the general realm of "cheese." The "processed" category just means that it has extra additives like preservatives and emulsifiers that aren't included in cheese — Kraft Singles and Velveeta also fall into the same bucket.

Accounts of provel's flavor vary: It's considered a bit sharper than some more plain cheeses like mozzarella, and it has a smoky kick thanks to the addition of liquid smoke. Some also describe it as rich and creamy. This seems to apply mostly when it's melted: While unmelted provel is a bit waxy in texture, the melted version is smoother and softer. It also stays relatively intact when it's melted, and it doesn't stretch the way that mozzarella usually does.

Provel first came about in the 1940s — there's some ambiguity around the exact origin, but a common story is that a Wisconsin company, Hoffman Dairy, created it specifically for St. Louis' Costa Grocery, an Italian grocery store, where the plan was to use it for pizza. The goal was to get a cheese that didn't stretch out in a stringy way like mozzarella and had some sharpness to its flavor profile. The cheese ended up in the hands of restaurateur Ed Imo, who opened Imo's Pizza in the '60s. That pizzeria has now ballooned into a full chain with close to 100 locations that are mostly close to St. Louis. Imo's is now considered an iconic purveyor of St. Louis-style pizza, which is known for its thin, cracker-like crust. While the chain didn't invent this style, their addition of provel turned St. Louis pizza into what it is today.

Obviously, considering its history, provel cheese is best known as a pizza topping (although it's not ubiquitous — some local pizzerias shun the cheese). However, that's not its only use: If you order anything with cheese in it (like a sandwich or cheese fries) in St. Louis, there's a decent chance you'll get provel. Its smooth texture when melted also makes it a good candidate for a rich mac and cheese. For the same reason, it's also a good addition to a cheeseburger or a grilled cheese sandwich.