Cup cheese is a soft, spreadable cheese deeply rooted in Pennsylvania Dutch culinary history. Its heritage dates back to the immigration of the Mennonites and Amish to Pennsylvania in the late 17th century. A descendant of the German cheese "Kochkäse", it became known as cup cheese because it was sold in a cup. Cup cheese is increasingly seen as a specialty food product. Cup Cheese is described in James A. Michener's novel Centennial in 1974: 'You ever tasted my mother's cup cheese? Best in Lancaster.' 'Poppa likes cup cheese,' she said with a neutral look on her pretty face. 'Too smelly.'