The Overwhelming Amount Of Cow's Milk It Takes To Make Cheetos In A Year

Cow's milk is the prime component in a considerable amount of food, from yogurt and cheese to milk chocolate and baked goods. Americans consumed 655 pounds of milk and milk products in 2020, which demonstrates a yearly increase of about 3 pounds per person (via International Dairy Foods Association). To break it down further, there was a 3 percent increase in yogurt consumption throughout the year and a 2 percent rise in butter consumption in 2020. Despite the sheer number of dairy products out there, milk is still the favorite, with 61 percent of consumers drinking it at least once a week.

Cheese is one of the most popular foods that is derived from milk, and it's usually made with pasteurized whole milk. According to Jess, who is an expert cheesemaker, skim milk has its place, as well: It's used to make Parmesan, Romano, or in a mixture to create a few other varieties. Various types of cheese, from white cheddar to original cheddar and even Parmesan, are used in many chip brands. Cheetos are (obviously) one type of snack that uses cheese, but you'd never believe just how much cheese (and cow milk) they require per year.

Cheese is one of the primary ingredients in Cheetos. The leftover cheddar powder on your fingers often indicates that you've indulged in the crunchy (or puffy) snack, but you may have never considered where this cheese comes from. Cheese is, of course, made of cow's milk, but did you know it takes 5,000 cows to produce a year's worth of cheese for the popular chip? (via Tastemade). 10 million pounds of cheddar cheese are used to season Cheetos each year, which amounts to about 11 million gallons of milk, or 2,200 gallons per cow.

Interestingly enough, cheddar cheese doesn't even make America's list of most popular cheeses, according to Zippia. Instead, the most favored type of cheese, queso blanco, rules eight states, while the second favorite, cream cheese, dominates in six states. Other popular cheeses included Gouda, American cheese, pepper jack, and Velveeta. These cheese preferences don't really affect the Cheetos brand: Cheetos are among some of the most popular and delicious snacks around, and the brand makes almost $1 billion per year.