Cheese pull
{{Short description|Stretching of melted cheese}}
Cheese pulls are the stretching of melted cheese. They are considered to appear appetizing and have been featured in food advertisements and social media.{{Cite web |last=Bryan |first=Chloe |date=2019-07-23 |title=It's time to retire the cheese pull |url=https://mashable.com/article/cheese-pulls-have-gone-too-far-instagram |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=Mashable |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Makalintal |first=Bettina |date=2019-01-09 |title=Actually, Cheese Pulls Are a Scam |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/actually-cheese-pulls-are-a-scam/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2019-10-11 |title=No, Pizza Chains Are Not Using Glue To Make Cheese Pulls Look Stretchier |url=https://www.delish.com/food-news/a29388968/pizza-commercial-filming-secrets-tweet/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=Delish |language=en-US}}
A number of studies have been conducted to determine how stretchy and thick various cheese varieties are at various temperatures.{{Cite journal |last1=Fife |first1=R. L. |last2=McMahon |first2=D. J. |last3=Oberg |first3=C. J. |date=2002-12-01 |title=Test for Measuring the Stretchability of Melted Cheese1 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030202744445 |journal=Journal of Dairy Science |volume=85 |issue=12 |pages=3539–3545 |doi=10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(02)74444-5 |pmid=12512629 |issn=0022-0302}}{{Cite journal |last1=Venugopal |first1=V. |last2=and Muthukumarappan |first2=K. |date=2003-01-03 |title=Rheological Properties of Cheddar Cheese During Heating and Cooling |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1081/JFP-120016627 |journal=International Journal of Food Properties |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=99–114 |doi=10.1081/JFP-120016627 |issn=1094-2912}}{{Cite web |last=Neal |first=Alli |date=2023-08-03 |title=How To Get A Satisfyingly Gooey Cheese Pull Every Time |url=https://www.thedailymeal.com/1354705/get-satisfying-gooey-cheese-pull-timing/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=The Daily Meal |language=en-US}} Cheddar and mozzarella have been described as two of the best cheeses for cheese pulls. Various brands and restaurants have been compared by the perceived quality of their cheese pulls.{{Cite web |last=Lin |first=Su-Jit |title=We tried 10 brands of frozen mozzarella sticks to find the best ones |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/best-brand-of-frozen-mozzarella-sticks-from-grocery-store-review-photos#we-found-10-different-sticks-and-decided-to-taste-them-blind-to-keep-things-fair-1 |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=VanDooijeweert |first=Kara |title=We respect the cheese pull. You should, too. Here are go-to spots in North Jersey |url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/dining/2024/11/21/nj-restaurant-cheesey-dishes-north-jersey/75160653007/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=North Jersey Media Group |language=en-US}} The food additive sodium citrate has been suggested as a method for making melted cheese stretchier.{{Cite web |last=Renee |first=Nika |date=2024-12-23 |title=Here's How A Cheese Pull Works |url=https://www.thetakeout.com/1740058/cheese-pull-science-explained/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=The Takeout |language=en-US}}
Various organizations have tracked world records for the longest measured cheese pull. One such record was recorded by RecordSetter in 2016, when Carlo Alberto Orecchia achieved a {{Convert|41.5|in|cm}} cheese pull with a pizza slice. In 2023, the Doritos corporation used a helicopter to achieve a {{Convert|49|ft|m}}-cheese pull; the stunt involved a {{Convert|265|lb|kg}} blend of cheddar and mozzarella and a {{Convert|4|ft|m}}-wide nacho.{{Cite web |last=Cost |first=Ben |date=2023-09-15 |title=World's highest cheese-pull as chopper lifts nacho 49 feet |url=https://nypost.com/2023/09/15/worlds-highest-cheese-pull-as-chopper-lifts-nacho-49-feet/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |language=en-US}}
A 2023 article claimed that the hashtag "#cheesepull" had hundreds of thousands of uses across various social media platforms. A number of journalists have criticized the concept as unappetizing or misleading about the taste or quality of the dish.