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Cheese zombie

Breads, Flatbreads and Savory Pastries

Cheese zombie is the name of two different American baked goods, each made by sealing melted cheese between layers of bread dough. The Yakima County, Washington version was invented in the early 1960s by employees of the Grandview School District under lunch program supervisor Dorothy L. Finch, who were looking for ways to use surplus Velveeta cheese. It is a layer of cheese baked between two layers of dough and sliced into squares, and it got its name when one of the cooks said the first batch looked like a zombie. The second version was invented in Concord, California, in 1963 by the bakers Decla Phillips and Helen Ballock at Mount Diablo High School, using American cheese, and it is cut into circles and crimped with a special tool before baking to keep the cheese inside the bun. The term was registered as a trademark in 2009, and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board later cancelled it as merely descriptive.

Facts
Classification
Course
Main Course 1
Dietary Suitability
Contains Dairy or Egg 2
Origin Period, From (Year)
from 1960 1
Connections

In Cuisine

Source Cheese zombie (Wikipedia)

Uses Ingredient

Cheese, Ingredients
Source Cheese zombie (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Originated In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source Cheese zombie (Wikipedia)Lead, Concord version
Quote, Lead, Concord version
A second type of cheese zombie was invented in Concord, California, in 1963 by Decla Phillips and Helen Ballock, bakers employed at Mount Diablo High School.

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source Cheese zombie (Wikipedia)Lead, Yakima version
Quote, Lead, Yakima version
One type of cheese zombie was invented in Yakima County, Washington, by employees of the Grandview School District in the early 1960s.
Sources
1. Yakima Herald-Republic: It Happened Here: Cheese zombies become school cafeteria staple
Yakima Herald-Republic
  • Main text
    it seems the cheese zombie was created by lunchroom workers at the Grandview School District in the early 1960s
  • Serving and school lunch paragraph
    Usually served with a side of tomato soup or sauce, the pizza-like bread with cheese baked inside was for some the highlight of their school lunch experience.
View the Source
2. Cheese zombie (Wikipedia)
  • Lead sentence
    A cheese zombie is the name of two different baked goods filled with melted cheese.
  • Lead, Yakima version
    One type of cheese zombie was invented in Yakima County, Washington, by employees of the Grandview School District in the early 1960s.
  • Lead, Concord version
    A second type of cheese zombie was invented in Concord, California, in 1963 by Decla Phillips and Helen Ballock, bakers employed at Mount Diablo High School.
View the Source
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