The Laughing Cow (French: La vache qui ritFrench pronunciation:[lavaʃkiʁi]) is a brand of processed cheese products made by Fromageries Bel since 1921. The name refers in particular to the brand's most popular product, the spreadable wedge.[4]
The cheese is a blend of cream, milk, and fresh and aged cheeses, particularly comté, which are pasteurized to stop the ripening process. Versatile and portable because of its pasteurization process, Laughing Cow can remain unrefrigerated for a limited length of time. The archetypal Laughing Cow cheese comes wrapped in the individual serving-sized foiled wedges and they are packaged in a round, flat box. Consumers have to pull a little red thread around the box to open it and the foil packaging also features a red tab for opening. The company was founded in 1921. The Laughing Cow is available in these formats in different worldwide markets:
Triangles, squares, or rectangles in various flavors.[5]
Spreadable tubs and jars
The Laughing Cow Dip & Crunch (or Pik & Croq in mainland Europe), previously named Cheez Dippers, which are snacks consisting of bread sticks and cheese spread, and these come in four varieties; original, light, hazelnut and pizza
Slicing blocks of The Laughing Cow with a harder consistency like that of butter
Ma P'tite Vache Qui Rit, pods of cheese spread to be eaten out of the pod with a spoon, especially for younger children
Toastinette processed cheese slices, similar to Kraft Singles
Bite-sized cubes, in various flavours and designed to be served as aperitifs at cocktail parties - which are called Cheez & Fun in many European countries, and also Snack Bites in the UK, Apéricube in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, PartyCubes in Canada, Mini Cubes in Australia and New Zealand, and Belcube in Japan and South Korea. They are produced in 24- or 48-cube boxes of one flavour, e.g. blue, ham, salmon, chili pepper and olive, or they are produced in 24- or 48-cube boxes of a particular theme, e.g., 'Cocktails du Monde', 'Petites Recettes', 'Tex-Mex' and 'Indian'.
Discontinued formats of The Laughing Cow include:
Giggles/Blop processed cheese pods for younger children
Squeeze bottles
Big Cheez Dipper (a larger version of Cheez Dippers)
Cheez Double Dippers (which contained crispy bacon flavour bits in addition to bread sticks and cheese spread).
The Laughing Cow USA introduced a TV commercial in 2009 where the company introduced a new slogan, "Have you laughed today?". In 2010 they updated the brand's website to include cheese recipes.
A wedge of Original Creamy Swiss
Laughing Cow cheese is available in its original flavour, a light version with 7% fat, and an ultra-light version with 3% fat. In addition, flavoured versions of the cheese (such as ham, gruyère, garlic, paprika, mushroom, chèvre, bleu, hazelnut, pizza, jalapeño and onion) are also available in various markets worldwide.
Evolution of the brandedit
The Laughing Cow is a red and white cow depicted as being jovial, and almost always wearing ear tags that look like the round boxes the cheese comes in. On April 16, 1921, Léon Bel trademarked his brand, as La Vache Qui Rit, in France.[6][7] Bel had made the original drawing himself, after seeing a travelling meat wagon during World War I called "La Wachkyrie", a play on the word for Valkyrie.[7] The cow in the original drawing was not red and did not wear ear tags. In 1924, illustrator Benjamin Rabier edited the drawing into something more like the image that prevails today.[6] The blue and white stripes around the box date from 1955. Since 1976 both ear-tag boxes have been shown with the top side visible. Before then, one tag showed the top and the other showed the bottom side. The current logo uses the Droste effect, with the laughing cow appearing inside the ear tags.[8]
Kiri (pronounced in the same way as "qui rit") is a separate brand that Bel established in 1966.[9]
Worldwide popularityedit
The cheese has long been popular in the United Kingdom and Canada as a children's snack.[10] The cheese has also been a constant, but hardly popular, product in the United States for a number of years.
The product name and indicia were adopted by the crew of World War II German submarine U-69, whose sinking of the SS Robin Moor was significant to US entry into World War II.
La Vache Qui Rit is the name of a finishing move in the 1994 video game Primal Rage. The character Vertigo will move up to an opponent and transform them into a cow, which makes a disconcerted moo as it runs away.
La vache qui lit ('The reading cow') is the children's book prize of the city of Zürich, and a children's book program in the Auvergne region of France.[12]
The Laughing Cow's mascot appears on the cover of the 2002 album Human by UK electronic musician Freeform.
^ abDéniel, Patrick (2011-04-13). "Les secrets de La Vache Qui Rit enfin percés !". L'Usine nouvelle. from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
^Merow, Katharine (2013). "Escher and the Droste Effect". Mathematical Association of America. from the original on 2 August 2013.
^"CSR" CSR情報 (in Japanese). ベル ジャポン (Bell Japon). お客様のニーズにお応えする商品. from the original on 2017-05-09. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
^"Les Editions la vache qui lit". editionslavachequilit.com (in French). Retrieved 28 May 2017.
External linksedit
at The Bel Group's web site
The Laughing Cow Brand site features and snack cheese information
La Vache qui rit 2018-06-01 at the Wayback Machine official site (in French)
La Maison de La Vache qui rit – A museum operated by Fromageries Bel. (fr:La Maison de La Vache qui rit)
January 01, 1970
laughing, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january, 2013, le. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Laughing Cow news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message The Laughing Cow French La vache qui rit French pronunciation la vaʃ ki ʁi is a brand of processed cheese products made by Fromageries Bel since 1921 The name refers in particular to the brand s most popular product the spreadable wedge 4 The Laughing Cow La Vache qui Rit Other namesLaughing Cow CheeseCountry of originFrance produced worldwide 1 RegionLons le Saunier 2 3 Source of milkCowPasteurisedYesTextureSemi softAging timeMade from aged cheeses but not aged itselfCertificationTrademarked brand nameRelated media on Commons Contents 1 Description 2 Evolution of the brand 3 Worldwide popularity 4 Other associations 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksDescription editThe cheese is a blend of cream milk and fresh and aged cheeses particularly comte which are pasteurized to stop the ripening process Versatile and portable because of its pasteurization process Laughing Cow can remain unrefrigerated for a limited length of time The archetypal Laughing Cow cheese comes wrapped in the individual serving sized foiled wedges and they are packaged in a round flat box Consumers have to pull a little red thread around the box to open it and the foil packaging also features a red tab for opening The company was founded in 1921 The Laughing Cow is available in these formats in different worldwide markets Triangles squares or rectangles in various flavors 5 Spreadable tubs and jars The Laughing Cow Dip amp Crunch or Pik amp Croq in mainland Europe previously named Cheez Dippers which are snacks consisting of bread sticks and cheese spread and these come in four varieties original light hazelnut and pizza Slicing blocks of The Laughing Cow with a harder consistency like that of butter Ma P tite Vache Qui Rit pods of cheese spread to be eaten out of the pod with a spoon especially for younger children Toastinette processed cheese slices similar to Kraft Singles Bite sized cubes in various flavours and designed to be served as aperitifs at cocktail parties which are called Cheez amp Fun in many European countries and also Snack Bites in the UK Apericube in France Belgium and the Netherlands PartyCubes in Canada Mini Cubes in Australia and New Zealand and Belcube in Japan and South Korea They are produced in 24 or 48 cube boxes of one flavour e g blue ham salmon chili pepper and olive or they are produced in 24 or 48 cube boxes of a particular theme e g Cocktails du Monde Petites Recettes Tex Mex and Indian Discontinued formats of The Laughing Cow include Giggles Blop processed cheese pods for younger children Squeeze bottles Big Cheez Dipper a larger version of Cheez Dippers Cheez Double Dippers which contained crispy bacon flavour bits in addition to bread sticks and cheese spread The Laughing Cow USA introduced a TV commercial in 2009 where the company introduced a new slogan Have you laughed today In 2010 they updated the brand s website to include cheese recipes nbsp A wedge of Original Creamy Swiss Laughing Cow cheese is available in its original flavour a light version with 7 fat and an ultra light version with 3 fat In addition flavoured versions of the cheese such as ham gruyere garlic paprika mushroom chevre bleu hazelnut pizza jalapeno and onion are also available in various markets worldwide Evolution of the brand editThe Laughing Cow is a red and white cow depicted as being jovial and almost always wearing ear tags that look like the round boxes the cheese comes in On April 16 1921 Leon Bel trademarked his brand as La Vache Qui Rit in France 6 7 Bel had made the original drawing himself after seeing a travelling meat wagon during World War I called La Wachkyrie a play on the word for Valkyrie 7 The cow in the original drawing was not red and did not wear ear tags In 1924 illustrator Benjamin Rabier edited the drawing into something more like the image that prevails today 6 The blue and white stripes around the box date from 1955 Since 1976 both ear tag boxes have been shown with the top side visible Before then one tag showed the top and the other showed the bottom side The current logo uses the Droste effect with the laughing cow appearing inside the ear tags 8 Kiri pronounced in the same way as qui rit is a separate brand that Bel established in 1966 9 Worldwide popularity editThe cheese has long been popular in the United Kingdom and Canada as a children s snack 10 The cheese has also been a constant but hardly popular product in the United States for a number of years Localized names include La Vache qui Rit in nbsp France nbsp Canada French speaking areas only nbsp Switzerland nbsp Belgium the nbsp Netherlands nbsp Norway nbsp Greece nbsp Lithuania nbsp Malta nbsp Algeria nbsp Morocco and other Arabic speaking countries The Laughing Cow in English speaking countries the rest of Canada and nbsp Indonesia Die Lachende Kuh in German speaking countries except for Switzerland La Vaca que Rie in Spanish speaking countries A Vaca que Ri in Portuguese speaking countries Vesyolaya Buryonka Vesyolaya Buryonka in nbsp Russia ラッフィングカウ Raffingu Kau in nbsp Japan 11 래핑카우 in nbsp South Korea 乐芝牛 in nbsp China 笑牛牌 in nbsp Hong Kong La Mucca che Ride in nbsp Italy Den Skrattande Kon in nbsp Sweden Den Leende ko in nbsp Denmark La Vache qui Rit Gulen Inek in nbsp Turkey Krowka Smieszka in nbsp Poland Neveto tehen in nbsp Hungary Krava koja se smije in nbsp Croatia Văcuța veselă in nbsp Romania Vesela Korivka Vesela Korivka in nbsp Ukraine Vesela krava in the nbsp Czech Republic H Agelada poy Gela I Agelada pou Gela in nbsp Cyprus گاو خندان Gav e Khandaan in nbsp Iran Sapi Ceria in nbsp Indonesia formerly Con Bo Cười in nbsp Vietnam Ilay Omby Vavy Mifaly in nbsp Madagascar לה וואש קירי in nbsp IsraelOther associations editThe product name and indicia were adopted by the crew of World War II German submarine U 69 whose sinking of the SS Robin Moor was significant to US entry into World War II La Vache qui Rit is the name of an EP by late 1980s Washington D C punk band Rain with connection to Dischord Records Le Vache qui Rit is the name of a 1982 EP by UK Anarchist Punk band Zounds La Vache Qui Rit is the name of a finishing move in the 1994 video game Primal Rage The character Vertigo will move up to an opponent and transform them into a cow which makes a disconcerted moo as it runs away La vache qui lit The reading cow is the children s book prize of the city of Zurich and a children s book program in the Auvergne region of France 12 The Laughing Cow s mascot appears on the cover of the 2002 album Human by UK electronic musician Freeform See also edit nbsp Food portal Emmi AG manufacturer of Swiss Knight brand of spreadable cheese wedges Dairylea cheese Similar popular spreadable cheese in UK Ireland Babybel another internationally distributed snack sized cheese product produced by Fromageries BelReferences edit The Laughing Cow more than 90 years and still smiling Groupe Bel Archived from the original on 11 July 2016 Retrieved 28 May 2017 Birck Danielle 6 November 2009 La Vache qui rit Radio France Internationale in French Retrieved 28 May 2017 Decouvrir The House of the Laughing Cow in French Retrieved 28 May 2017 Welcome to the world of The Laughing Cow The Laughing Cow Retrieved 2022 11 21 The Laughing Cow Spreadable Cheese Wedge Variety pack Amazon Retrieved 2021 10 22 a b Bienvenue a la Vache Qui Rit 1921 National Institute of Industrial Property France INPI in French 12 January 2016 open the beside Combien de portions de Retrieved 2023 03 20 a b Deniel Patrick 2011 04 13 Les secrets de La Vache Qui Rit enfin perces L Usine nouvelle Archived from the original on 2021 12 21 Retrieved 2023 03 20 Merow Katharine 2013 Escher and the Droste Effect Mathematical Association of America Archived from the original on 2 August 2013 Kiri Le Groupe Bel Retrieved 2021 07 24 Is Laughing Cow Cheese Gluten Free Vegiac 29 October 2021 Retrieved 2022 11 25 CSR CSR情報 in Japanese ベル ジャポン Bell Japon お客様のニーズにお応えする商品 Archived from the original on 2017 05 09 Retrieved 2021 09 22 Les Editions la vache qui lit editionslavachequilit com in French Retrieved 28 May 2017 External links editThe Laughing Cow at The Bel Group s web site The Laughing Cow Brand site features cheese recipes and snack cheese information La Vache qui rit Archived 2018 06 01 at the Wayback Machine official site in French La Maison de La Vache qui rit A museum operated by Fromageries Bel fr La Maison de La Vache qui rit Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Laughing Cow amp oldid 1192819443 The product, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
