cheese pull
noun
an instance of pulling apart a food filled with stretchy cheese
What does cheese pull mean?
Cheese pull refers to an instance of pulling apart a food filled with melty cheese (such as mozzarella) such that it stretches slowly between the two parts. In some contexts, cheese pull can also refer to how well a food lends itself to satisfying cheese pulls—usually the longer the gooey cheese can stretch before breaking, the better. Videos of cheese pulls are very popular on social media.
Examples of cheese pull
No food media content, however, seems to grab your attention as hard as a greasy, stretchy cheese pull. Whether from a one-pound mozzarella stick or spicy sausage breakfast burrito; when the cheese oozes, the engagements soar.
—Kara VanDooijeweert, The Bergen Record (New Jersey), 21 Nov. 2025
First off, this isn’t a slight to people who like cheese pulls. If they make you happy, go for it. But for some reason I just don’t get it. The big ones in videos especially, where half the cheese in the sandwich just comes out all over the place. Great, now the cheese is all on the outside instead of with the nice toasty toast. Do people actually do these when they normally eat grilled cheese or is it just a video thing? If you do, how do you eat it?
—... an Asian fusion restaurant with Korean corndogs with incredible cheese pulls …
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Where does cheese pull come from?
We define the relevant sense of the noun pull as “the act of an instance of pulling,” with “pulling” referring to the action of drawing something apart. Cheese pull is also reminiscent of taffy pull, which refers to a social gathering at which taffy is made by stretching the cooling candy repeatedly.
While cheese pulls have become something of a phenomenon in the foodie corners of social media, the term originated decades ago, and seem to have first appeared in contexts relating to food advertising.
Melted cheese oozes from a pizza in what food stylists call a “cheese pull.”' A small army of stylists, prop stylist, photographer and art director work to make food photos look yummy.
—The dish is eventually passed to a stagehand, who heats up the mozzarella and welds it to the noodles on the fork, using what looks like an industrial hair dryer. A hero shot is being set up, and not just any hero shot. “It’s a cheese pull,” Anthony DeRobertis says, using the term of art for hot cheese in motion.
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How is cheese pull used?
Like much else these days, for clicks, comments, and likes. 😋🧀
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