Cheesy Wotsits

Gases dispersed in solid or semi-solid foodstuffs are responsible for such culinary delights as bread, sponge, whipped cream, maltesers, meringues, wotsits, space ice cream and cinder toffee. Whilst the medium (e.g. the bread dough, chocolate or sugar) is partially responsible for the mouthfeel of the final confectionary, the size of the gas bubbles also determines how light the food tastes: the smaller and more dispersed the bubbles, the better, lighter or smoother the food is perceived to be. These gas bubbles are produced through many different methods, including fermentation, whipping, steam injection, steam generation, chemical reaction and expansion extrusion.

Wotsits and starch packaging pellets have a lot of similarities: both are produced by expansion extrusion. Both are made from corn – although the edible snack is made from cornmeal and the packaging from starch. Both are formed into a paste with water that is then extruded under high pressure, and when it comes out of the extruder and is released from this high pressure, the water inside boils and turns to steam and the cornmeal expands into a foam. In the case of Wotsits, this can then be baked and flavoured. These cheesy delights were first invented by accident in the US in the 1930s as a bi-product of the animal feed industry, when workers put moistened corn kernels into their flaking machines to reduce clogging.