ST. LOUIS – A Food & Wine Magazine writer explained in a recent post regarding their “intense” love for Provel, a controversial St. Louis cheese made up of cheddar, Swiss, and provolone.

The writer explains that there are some foods you grow up to love and how Provel is one of those foods.

“I often downplay it, saying the cheese is ‘fine,’ or that I only eat Imo’s when I’ve had too many drinks,” wrote Adam Rothbarth. “That’s mostly because I’ve grown weary of hearing everyone’s opinions about it. But the truth is that my love for Provel is intense, almost mystical, and I’ve finally started taking it seriously.”

Rothbarth was once a staff writer for Sauce Magazine , a St. Louis food publication, and despite having written about Provel, the writer never thought critically about his own opinion.

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The writer mentioned some of his earliest memories of Provel, including eating it by the handful and even getting pizza from Cecil Whittaker’s topped with the St. Louis cheese.

Despite Provel’s controversial waxy, plastic-like texture, the writer explains how those who learn to the love cheese experience it before they are introduced to “real” and “fake” cheese.

“If you’ve had it, though, and hate it, if you think it’s ‘fake cheese’ or that it ‘tastes like cardboard,’ let me respond on behalf of Missouri and say: We’ve heard it before, and with all due respect, nobody cares,” Rothbarth concluded.

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