This Discontinued Kraft Cheese Was One Of The Weirdest Party Snacks Of The '70s

Since as far back as the early 1900s, there's been processed cheese in various forms and colors. It started out Swiss and white, but eventually oozing, fake-orange cheese products squeezed their way into American pop culture, such as Easy Cheese and Cheez Wiz, which cemented its place in history by becoming a staple topping for Philly cheesesteaks. In the late 1960s, the Kraft company, master of various cheese likenesses and facsimiles including Kraft Singles and powdered cheese for mac and cheese, decided to expand its almost-cheese repertoire by coming out with Squeez-A-Snak.

This gelatinous cheese goo came in a flexible, sausage-shaped container that was perfect for squeezing, and each package was filled with processed cheese food that could be pressed out by hand. Squeez-A-Snak was available in a variety of fun flavors, including Bacon, Sharp, Pimento, Hickory Smoke, Garlic, and Jalapeño Pepper. While the taste was agreeable to some boomers and '80s kids, and surely made for a good conversation starter at parties, what was truly pleasing was the squeezing. "This was a Play Doh fun factory in the palm of your hand," someone posted on Reddit.

Squeez-A-Snak squiggled and squirmed its way onto everything from tortilla chips to hot dogs to giant soft pretzels, with people regularly making patterns and shapes in a process similar to using a piping bag to decorate baked goods. "We used to get these sometimes for snacky sorts of events," said one person on Facebook. "I remember as a kid it was just fun because of the shaped piping spigot thing, putting little florets on crackers and stuff."

For those in the '70s and '80s who loved a squishy snack, this beloved cheese product became many people's main squeeze. Social media is full of posts describing fond memories of people's soft, processed friend. Many considered Squeez-A-Snak a pretty big deal, with some saying it was even better than Cheez Wiz. "We thought we hit it big when we got squeeze a cheese [sic]," one person posted on Facebook.

Someone else recalled eating it on Sociables crackers, another popular '80s great, but many were content with the cheese just on its own. "When I was a little kid, if I found this in the fridge, I'd be squeezing this stuff directly into my mouth!" said one Facebook user. "I used to eat this crap right out of the tube as a kid," another Facebooker agreed. "Omg ... the best 'food'-in-a-tube ever!" someone else commented. It tasted like cheese, didn't belong in the fridge, and came in a tube. Squeez-A-Snak was awesome! Or, in typical '80s vernacular, it was totally tubular.

Squeez-A-Snak was always a hit at parties and gameday gatherings. "In the 70's this was always for guests. I remember it being one of the most celebrated party snacks; and my mom yelling at us kids to leave the cheese alone," one Redditor recalled.

Some people found more practical uses for it, such as using it as fishing bait. "My grandfather used the garlic version of this to trout fish, and he caught a pile of 'em on it," one person said. And a Redditor noted, "I think I patched a hole in the wall of my Shasta trailer with this. It looked good for years."