[1] A combination of cheddar, Swiss, provolone,[2][3][4] and liquid smoke,[5] Provel has a low melting point, a gooey texture, and a buttery flavor.

Provel was purportedly invented for St. Louis–style pizza in the 1940s by Costa Grocery (now Roma Grocery on the Hill), in collaboration with Hoffman Dairy of Wisconsin (now part of Kraft Foods), according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch food writer Joe Bonwich.

Provel was developed to meet demand for a pizza cheese with a clean bite, melting well while breaking off nicely when cut or bitten.

[5] Neither Kraft Foods nor Roma Grocery has a definitive answer for the origin of the name, although one popular theory is that it is a portmanteau of the words provolone and mozzarella, two of the cheeses for which it is substituted.

[12] Imo's Pizza acquired Costa's Grocery, which had the sole rights to sell Provel in St. Louis,[5] some time between 1964 and 1985.