When the new Herr’s four cheese mac ‘n cheese curls first landed on my doorstep, I was skeptical. The last round of snacks Herr’s sent me found few fans in The Inquirer’s newsroom and left a range of Philly chefs scratching their heads. Would I be subjecting my colleagues once more to snacks that were more or less just fine?
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The answer was no. Because I did not share. The package was sent to me right before Labor Day weekend, which gave me too many days alone with the cheese curls for there to be any left to bring to the office.
To my colleagues, I am sorry.
These snacks have achieved what no other puffed cheese curl (including those peddled by a famous cheetah) has. They are incredibly cheesy, with lingering umami, thanks to the MSG in the ingredient list. They taste exceptionally rich, with a delightful bit of funk from actual blue cheese, noted in the nutrition facts label, but not in the snack’s branding.
While mac ‘n cheese may not be the first inspiration that comes to mind, I get where Herr’s going. There’s a curious meltiness that comes from the curls’ blend of creamy and sharp cheeses: Parmesan, mozzarella, cheddar, and Romano.
Texturally, they are similar to Cheetos, but shape-wise, they are more elongated, with actually very little curl.
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They launched last week and are a permanent addition to Herr’s lineup of snacks. Herr’s first debuted their original cheese curls in 1976 and has introduced a few other flavored cheese curls in the last 50 years, including Old Bay-seasoned cheese curls and Stubb’s Sticky Sweet Bar-B-Q cheese curls.
The curls come in a range of sizes, from a .875-ounce concession bag, to a family-size 7.5-ounces bag. You will want to buy more than one if you have anything like the same need for cheese that I do.
I have already given myself a stomachache and possibly permanently stained my fingers orange. I regret nothing.