The Cheese That Changed Everything (S2, E4) | The Food That Built America | Full Episode
The Cheese Wars: How Kraft Outmaneuvered Pabst During Prohibition
Discover the ingenious process innovations by James Kraft and the surprising pivot by the Pabst brothers that defined the modern American food landscape. Learn how one visionary secured a patent that fundamentally shifted control of the dairy industry.
Short Summary
- James Kraft solved dairy spoilage by inventing shelf-stable, pasteurized processed cheese, starting his empire from $65.
- The rise of Prohibition forced the massive Pabst Brewing Company to pivot into cheese production to survive, creating the rival product Pabst-ett.
- Kraft leveraged his early patent success and a World War I government contract to build national scale before Pabst entered the cheese market.
- A crucial patent infringement lawsuit ultimately forced Pabst to pay licensing fees to Kraft, securing Kraft's dominance when Prohibition ended.
This episode details the parallel and ultimately colliding histories of two food titans: James Kraft, who revolutionized cheesemaking, and the Pabst brothers, who navigated disaster by applying brewing infrastructure to dairy production. Understand the strategic risks, technological leaps, and complex legal maneuvers that solidified processed cheese as an American staple.
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Top Comments (10)
The background music sounds as if they were getting ready to go on a spy mission rather than inventing new types of cheeses
It’s nice to see some quality programming out of History Channel again. They went through a bit of a dark age for a while but this is almost on par with their late 90’s early 2000’s content.
Ok now everyone get up off the couch or the toilet and go in the kitchen and make a Grilled Cheese sandwich with bowl of Tomato soup❤❤
Why does the music sound like it belongs in a horror film score? Should I be afraid of cheese???
History Channel invented a new way to get viewers to stay glued to a screen for the whole episode, in one sitting. That shouldn't be overlooked when discussing amazing feats.
Now this is one of the longest commercials that I've ever seen.
I guess I'm not eating enough cheese..I Love your scary cheese music, very dramatic
wow an episode where two companies help one another and it works out well
There's a brief mention of emulsifying salts but it's really sodium citrate. Kraft discovering that adding it to cheese is what enables it to melt and flow. I'm surprised they didn't emphasize how important it is.
Why hasn't this story become a movie? We got McDonalds, Flamin' Hot, and even the Pop-Tart movie. I think this one could be good, too.
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Top Comments (10)
The background music sounds as if they were getting ready to go on a spy mission rather than inventing new types of cheeses
It’s nice to see some quality programming out of History Channel again. They went through a bit of a dark age for a while but this is almost on par with their late 90’s early 2000’s content.
Ok now everyone get up off the couch or the toilet and go in the kitchen and make a Grilled Cheese sandwich with bowl of Tomato soup❤❤
Why does the music sound like it belongs in a horror film score? Should I be afraid of cheese???
History Channel invented a new way to get viewers to stay glued to a screen for the whole episode, in one sitting. That shouldn't be overlooked when discussing amazing feats.
Now this is one of the longest commercials that I've ever seen.
I guess I'm not eating enough cheese..I Love your scary cheese music, very dramatic
wow an episode where two companies help one another and it works out well
There's a brief mention of emulsifying salts but it's really sodium citrate. Kraft discovering that adding it to cheese is what enables it to melt and flow. I'm surprised they didn't emphasize how important it is.
Why hasn't this story become a movie? We got McDonalds, Flamin' Hot, and even the Pop-Tart movie. I think this one could be good, too.