The Ultimate Cheddar Cheese Curls

Not long ago, a bag of the Michael Season's the Ultimate Cheddar Cheese Curls came into the house. In appearance at least, they're a Cheetos-class snack food, made by Seasons' Enterprises of Addison, Ill. (the varied apostrophe usage is theirs).

The blarney on the bag is fairly thick: "Our crunchy curl is made with organic corn and then, while it's still hot, we let loose an avalanche of real cheese! Glorious, creamy, tangy, incredible cheddar cheese — and that's what make this the finest cheese curl you've ever tasted." But come to think of it, I wouldn't mind witnessing a cheese avalanche (from a distance).

Because of their passing similarity to the famed orange snack food, my expectations were low for Michael Season's. I've eaten enough Cheetos in my life, but not all that many in recent years. It's one of those things I've mostly lost my taste for. As you probably should. So I was pleasantly surprised when I tried them. They're a lot better than Cheetos.

A site called Snackerrific.com puts it well: "The cheesiness is far more genuine than I remember Cheetos being, and far better. The texture was crunchy, with a satisfying snap. The curls are surprisingly dense, lacking the dissolution factor I remember from my experiences with Cheetos."

Today I discovered that neither Lilly nor Ann likes them. "Why not?" I asked. "These taste more like actual cheese." My observation was dismissed. "They aren't Cheetos, Daddy!"